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LECTURES ON CHRISTIANITY: 



WHEREIN ITS 



NECESSITY, AUTHENTICITY, AND UTILITY, 



ARE SUPPORTED BY EVIDENCES 



HISTORICAL, PHILOSOPHICAL, EXPERIMENTAL, 
AND .MISCELLANEOUS: 



With an Affectionate Appeal to those who have been entangled in the 
snare of Infidelity. 



BY 



REV. HIRAM GILLMORE. 




CLEVELAND: 

PRINTED BY FRANCIS B. PENNIMAN. 
1837. 






DISTRICT OF OHIO, TO WIT . 

Be it remembered, that on the 11th day of April, Anno Dom- 
L. 5. ini, 1837, Hiram Gillmore, of the said District, hath deposited 
in this office the litle of a book, the title of which is in the 
Words following, to wit: "Lectures on Christianity; wherein its Necessity, 
Authenticity, and Utility, are supported by evidences, Historical, Philoso- 
phical, Experimental, and Miscellaneous; with an affectionate Appeal to 
those who have been entangled in the snare of Infidelity: By Rev. Hiram 
Gillmore.*' The right whereof he claims &s author, in conformity with an 
Act of Congress, entitled An act to amend the several acts respecting copy 
rights. Attest. 

WILLIAM MIXER, 

Clerk of the District. 



3 J to 









f \ 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Preface, ----- 5 

Introductory Remarks, - - - 11 

Lecture I. — Necessity of Christianity shown from the 
doctrines, state of morals, and worship of heathen 
nations, ----- 17 

Lecture II. — Necessity of Christianity, shown from 
the defects of natural religion, 31 

Lecture III. — Divine authority and inspiration of the 
Holy Scriptures — their antiquity — wonderful harmo- 
ny and connection — preservation — morality, and pu- 
rity of style, - 57 

Lecture IV. — Authenticity of Christianity shown from 
the moral character of Mioses — the Prophets — Christ 
and his Apostles — and the uncorrupted transmission 
of the writings containing their history, - 79 

Lecture V. — x\uthenticity of Christianity shown from 
the nature and harmony of the doctrines taught in the 
Holy Scriptures — the existence and nature of God — 
fall, and moral depravity of man — restoration of man 
to the Divine favor, through the merits of the vica- 
rious and sacrificial death of Christ— influence of the 
Holy Spirit, - - 105 

Lecture VI. — Authenticity of Christianity shown from 
the nature and harmony of the doctrines taught in 
the sacrc<l Scriptures — immortality of the soul — fu- 
ture rewards and punishments — and the resurrection 
of the human body from the dead, - - 133 



VI CONTENTS. 

Lecture VII. — Authenticity of Christianity shown 
from the testimony of ancient writers concerning 
unusual events and facts recorded in Scripture — ot 
coins, medals, and ancient marbles, and of tradition, 161 

Lecture VIII. — Authenticity of Christianity shown 
from the miracles of Scripture, - - 192 

Lecture IX. -^-Authenticity of Christianity shown from 
circumstantial and persona] types, and the fulfillment 
of prophecy, - - - - 214 

Lecture X. — Evidence of prophecy — continued, £32 

Lecture XL — Authenticity of Christianity shown from 
a correct estimate of its early success, and the pres- 
ervation of the church, •- 252 

Lecture XII. — Christianity confers on the world great 
literary benefits — is benevolent in its character and 
operations — and has a power and tendency to reform 
mankind, - - - 267 

Lecture XIII. — Christianity constitutes its votaries 
happy — but a small amount of evidence given — evi- 
dence constantly increasing — what has been given 
never been answered — objections considered — infideli- 
ty too long been permitted to attack Christianity 
without defending itself, - 290 

Conclusion. — An affectionate Appeal to the hearts of 
those who have been entangled in the snare of infi- 
delity, - - - - 304 



PREFACE. 



While infidelity, under its different modifications, still 
exists, and exerts a demoralizing influence upon the 
hearts and lives of men, it becomes the duty of one 
and all, in every reasonable and possible way, to 
counteract its influence. And to remain indifferent or 
inactive, especially when infidelity is renewing its ardor 
and work of death, is highly culpable, and no excuse 
can clear us from the charge of guilt. 



Infidelity is constantly changing its position, though 
its nature and effects remain the same ; and notwith- 
standing much has been said, and much written, to 
detect it in its windings, and "turn the tide of souls 
another way," yet, the period has arrived in the history 
of the church, and of the world, when every lover 
of his country, and of "pure and undefiled religion," 
should stand firm in their defence, against the cavils 
and sophistry of this heaven-daring and soul-destroying 
ystem. This object has been kept in view, in pre- 
paring and presenting to the public the following 
Lectures. How far it has been accomplished, we 
leave the candid reader to judge. 



PREFACE. 



These Lectures were first delivered in the village 
of Ravenna, Ohio, and afterwards in Painesville, and 
the city of Cleveland, at the request of several intelli- | 
gent gentlemen in each place — for the purpose of 
informing the public in general, especially the youth, 
on what foundation the great superstructure of Chris- 
tianity is built — and by the solicitude of numerous 
friends, both among ministers and laymen, and a 
desire to promote that religion which can impart 
substantial happiness to the human mind, we have 
consented to let them appear before the public in the 
present form. 

We are far from thinking this work to contain all 
that might profitably be said on the subject herein 
discussed, or that no additions and improvements might 
be made for the better; still, we are of the opinion, I 
that a work of this kind has long been needed, espe*, J 
cially by young ministers, and those who have not I 
time or means for extensive reading. And we trust 1 
that this volume will, in some measure, meet their 
wants, and fill a vacancy in their theological library. 

All believers in Christianity, certainly, ought to 
acquaint themselves with the evidence by which it is 
authenticated ; and all unbelievers ought to be informed 
that we do not give credence to the doctrines and 
precepts of the Bible, without sufficient testimony; and 
that we are both willing and solicitous, that the foun- 



PREFACE. IX 

elation of our faith should be examined, and that too 
by the strictest rules of criticism. And as we have 
taken much pains, in preparing this summary of chris- 
tian evidence, to collect testimony from history, phi- 
losophy, and experience, we trust that all into whose 
I hands it may chance to fall, will find something that 
will be both interesting and beneficial. 

In the preparation of these Lectures, a great number 
of intelligent authors, both ancient and modern, have 
| been consulted ; and in many instances their arguments, 
and even words, are given verbatim. The arrange- 
ment, however, and many of the arguments and illus- 
trations are original, some of which have been added 
since the Lectures were first delivered. 

The unbeliever is affectionately invited, should this 
small volume come under his notice, candidly to read, 
and carefully weigh every argument contained therein, 
before he abandons all hope in the Saviour of mankind, 
and consents to cling, with an iron grasp, to that 
system of religion that excludes a moral Governor 
from the universe ; and that represents man, rational 
man, as living without law, dying without hope, and 
| destined to eternal oblivion ! 

The believer in Jesus Christ is also invited to notice, 
again, the cloud of witnesses with which he is com- 
passed, and thereby strengthen his faith in the truths 
" of the gospel, and be prepared, with the weapons that 



PREFACE. 



.are mighty through God, to pull down the strong 
holds of infidelity. 

And should one soul be rescued from the devour- 
ing jaws of the demon of infidelity — one soul be pre- 
vented from inhaling its fetid breath — or one soul 
confirmed in the belief of revealed truth — we shall, 
in a moral point of view, be fully compensated for the 
mental and physical labor it has cost, to place in 
their hands this compendium of the evidences of Chris- 
tianity. 

H. GILLMORE. 

Cleveland, Ohio, May, 1837. 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 



Both the friends and enemies of Christianity agree 
in placing man high in the scale of being, and none are 
more ready to acknowledge the strength and expansibility 
of his reasoning powers, than those who receive the 
Christian system as their guide. Man, by his Maker, 
is constituted a proper subject of law. He has power 
to perceive the nature of law ; power to understand its 
claims ; power to remember its promises and threaten- 
ings ; power to choose or discard its promised blessings 
or threatened curse. And all admit that this power was 
given him by his Maker. But to say that man possesses 
power to be governed by law, and no law is given him, 
is a palpable absurdity, and deeds only to be mentioned 
to refute it. Yet, while the infidel eulogizes human 
nature, and places man on a lofty eminence among the 
works of God, he represents him as a lawless unac- 
countable creature. 

Science, in its researches, has ascertained that nature, 
whether organic or inorganic, is governed by fixed laws^ 
(only when God by his mighty power sees proper to 
counteract them ;) that beasts, birds, and fishes are 
governed by fixed laws adapted to their various natures^ 
B 



12 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 

and we ask, why should man, who stands on an emin- 
ence far above all these, be overlooked ? Why should 
he be left without a rule of action ? Infidelity declares 
nature and reason to be his guide, it is true ; but we 
hope to be able, subsequently, to show that these are not 
sufficiently authoritative in their nature, or adapted to 
man's moral powers, desires or circumstances. Man 
being a moral agent, a moral law is necessary for his 
government. None but his Maker can give and enforce 
upon him a moral law, and such a law cannot be given and 
enforced without a revelation. The adaptation of a moral 
law to the nature of man; its being made known by express 
revelation, and enforced upon him by penal sanctions, do 
not curtail his intellectual powers, nor depose reason 
from her throne ; but have a tendency to strengthen 
these active powers of man, and give to reason a more 
extended field of action. Neither the utility or dignity 
of human reason can be lessened by confining the exer- 
cise of it within those natural boundaries which the 
Creator himself hath assigned it. Reason is fully com- 
petent to judge of the credibility of any thing which is 
proposed to it as a divine revelation. But we deny that 
it. has a right to dispute (because we maintain that it has 
not the ability to disprove) the wisdom or the truth of 
those things which revelation proposes to its acceptance. 
Reason is to judge whether those things be indeed re- 
vealed ; and this judgment it is to form from the evidence 
to that effect. In this respect it is " the foundation of 
all certitude," because it enables us to ascertain the fact, 
that God hath spoken to us. But this fact once estab- 
lished, the credibility, nay, the certainty of the things 
revealed, follows as of necessary consenu* -icc 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 13 

no deduction of reason can be more indubitable than 
this, that whatever God reveals must be true. Here, 
then, the authority of reason ceases. Its judgment is 
finally determined by the fact of the revelation itself ; 
and it has thenceforth nothing to do but to believe and 
obey. 

Revelation is supposed to treat of subjects with which 
man's natural reason is not conversant. It is therefore 
to be expected that it should communicate some truths 
not to be fully comprehended by human understandings. 
But these we may safely receive, upon the authority 
which declares them without violating truth. Real and 
evident contradictions, no man can, indeed, believe, 
whose intellects are sound and clear. But such contra- 
dictions are no more proposed for our belief, than im- 
possibilities are enjoined for our practice ; though things 
difficult to understand, as well as things hard to perform 
may perhaps be required of us, for the trial of our 
faith and resolution. Seeming contradictions may also 
occur; but these may seem to be such because they are 
slightly or superficially considered, or because they are 
judged of by principles inapplicable to the subject, and 
without so clear a knowledge of the nature of the things 
revealed, as may lead us to form an adequate conception 
of them. These, however, afford no solid argument 
against the truth of what is proposed to our belief: since, 
unless we had really such an insight into the mysterious 
parts of revelation as might enable us to prove them to 
be contradictory and false, we have no good ground for 
rejecting them ; and we only betray our own ignorance 
and perverseness, in refusing to take God's word for 
the truth of things which pass our limited understanding. 



11 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 

The simple question, indeed, to be considered is, whether 
it be reasonable to believe, upon competent authority, 
things which we can neither discover ourselves, nor 
when discovered, fully and clearly comprehend ? Now 
every person of common observation must be aware, 
that unless he be content to receive, solely upon the 
testimony of others, a great variety of information, 
much of which he may be wholly unable to account for 
or explain, he could scarcely obtain a competency of 
knowledge to carry him safely through the common 
concerns of life. And with respect to scientific truths, 
the greatest masters in philosophy know full well, that 
many are reasonably to be believed ; nay, must be be- 
lieved, on sure and certain grounds of conviction, 
though they are absolutely incomprehensible by our 
understandings, and even so difficult to be reconciled 
with other truths of equal certainty, as to carry the 
appearance of being contradictory and impossible. 
This will serve to show, that it is not contrary to reason 
to believe, on sufficient authority, some things which 
cannot be comprehended, and some things, which, from 
the narrow and circumscribed views we are able to take 
of them, appear to be repugnant to our notions of truth. 
The ground on which we believe such things, is the 
strength and certainty of the evidence with which they 
are accompanied. And this is precisely the ground on 
which we are required to believe the truths of revealed 
religion. 

The evidence that they come from God is, to Reason 
itself, as incontrovertible a proof that they are true, as 
in matters of human science would be the evidence of 
the senses, or of mathematical demonstration. And 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 15 

that they came from God, it is the design of the following 
Lectures to show; while we appeal to the reason and 
experience of all who may hear them, as to the reason- 
ableness and force of the evidence we present on their 
Necessity, Authenticity, and Utility. 

Praying that God may guide our minds into all truth, 
and help us by his grace to improve it to our present, 
future, and everlasting benefit. 

"Wrong not the Christian — think not reason yours; 
'Tis reason our great Master holds so dear; 
'Tis reason's injured rights his wrath resents; 
""ris reason's voice obeyed, his glories crown. 
On argument alone our faith is built/' 



B* 



PART FIRST. 

NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

LECTURE I. 

Necessity of Christianity shown from the doc- 
trines, STATE OF MORALS, AND WORSHIP OF HEATHEN 
NATIONS. 

"Earth, turning from the sun, brings night to man: 
Man, turning from his God, brings endless night — 
Where thou canst read no morals, find no friend, 
Amend no manners, and expect no peace.' ' 

While we endeavor to point out the moral condition 
of heathen nations, from which we argue the necessity 
of the Christian Religion, w T e shall notice their doctrines, 
morals, and worship. 

I. Their doctrines. 

With all the attainments and philosophy that ancient 
pagans were in possession of, and with the book of 
nature spread out before them, many of them excluded 
a Supreme Intelligence from the universe. Mr. Cudworth 
enumerates four forms assumed by this species of un- 
belief. The same principles which distinguish several 
of the Greek philosophic sects, may be traced in several 
of those of the Hindoos, and above all, the atheistical 
system of Budhoo branched off from the vain philosophy 
of the Brahminical school, and has extended farther 
than Hindooism itself. 



18 NECESSITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 

Some of the learned among the heathen, it is true, 
acknowledge the existence of a God, and occasionally 
speak nobly concerning his attributes ; but at the same 
time they were led by their own imaginations and reason- 
ings, to conclusions which neutralize the effect of their 
sublimer conceptions, and often contradict them. Hence, 
they believed that matter was eternal, and thought it 
absolutely impossible that any thing should be produced 
from nothing, thus destroying the notion of a creation, 
in its proper sense, and of a Supreme Creator. And 
it is worthy of remark, that when heathen writers speak 
in a becoming manner of the attributes of God, they do 
not include in their notions the same ideas that we draw 
from them, when learned from his own words. For 
instance, some of them taught that God saw and knew 
all things, yet those who lived after the Christian era, 
complained that the Christians had introduced a very 
troublesome and busy God, who did "diligently inquire 
into the manners, actions, words, and secret thoughts of 
all men." Cicero, too, denied the foreknowledge of 
God. Seneca agreed with others, that some part of 
matter was so stubborn, that God, the Artificer, could 
not change it ; that many things were made ill, and that 
in consequence of this, evil things happen to good men. 
From this notion it follows, that there is no calamity to 
which we are not liable, and that God himself is unable 
to protect us from it. 

The knowledge they had of God was, therefore, by 
such speculations, rendered perfectly useless. Some 
taught that the obliquity and perverseness of matter was 
not only the source of natural, but also of moral evil : 
by which they either made sin necessary and irresistible, 



NECESSITY OF QHRISTIAXITY. 19 

or found in this opinion much to palliate it. Others 
refer moral evil to a natural principle of evil, or evil 
god, u emulous of the good God. ?? But whether natural 
and moral evil be traced to an eternal, uncontrollable 
matter, or to an eternal and independent anti-god, it is 
clear that the notion of a Supreme Deity, as contained 
in the Scriptures, and as conceived of by modern Theists, 
who have borrowed their light from them, could have no 
existence in such systems. Though some acknowledged 
the providence of God, others, particularly the Epicurean 
sect, denied it. According to the doctrine of Aristotle, 
God resides in the celestial sphere, and observes nothing 
and cares for nothing beyond himself, and neither im- 
mensity nor omnipresence belong to him. 

The Stoics contended for a providence, but in their 
creed it was contradicted, by the doctrine of an absolute 
necessity, or fate, to which God and matter, or the 
universe, (which consists, as they think, of both,) was 
immutably subject ; and where they allow it they confine 
the care of the gods to great affairs. 

Polytheism, also, was quite prevalent among the 
Platonists, and the followers of Pythagoras. And 
wherever Polytheism is admitted, it is as destructive 
of the doctrine of Providence, which they admitted, as 
is the doctrine of Fate — though by a different process. 
The Fatalist makes all things fixed and certain, and 
thus excludes all government. The Polytheist gives up 
the government of the world to innumerable opposing, 
contrary wills, and thus makes every thing uncertain — 
for if the favor of one deity be propitiated, the wrath of 
another, equally, or more powerful, may be provoked; 
or the gods may quarrel among themselves. Under the 



20 NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

influence of such a system, timidity and gloom must 
tenant every bosom, and, in many instances, render 
life a burden. The Wesleyan missionaries thus speak 
of the state of the Cingalese: "We feel ourselves inca- 
pable of giving you a full view of the deplorable state 
of a people, who believe that all things are governed by 
chance; who find malignant gods, or devils, in every 
planet, whose influence over mankind they consider 
to be extremely great, and the agents who inflict all the 
evils that men suffer in the world. A people so circum- 
stanced, need no addition to their miseries; but are 
objects towards which christian pity will extend itself, 
as far as the voice of their case can reach. They are 
literally, through fear of death, or malignant demons, 
all their life-time subject to bondage." 

Among the Egyptian and Grecian philosophers we 
find a notion that " God is the soul of the world;" from 
which all human spirits come, and to which they will 
return — some immediately, and others through long 
courses of transmigration. The Hindoos are also 
taught to believe that at the end of every Calpa, (cre- 
ation or formation,) all things are absorbed in the 
diety. 

The views of the Heathen philosophers, concerning 
a future state, and immortality of the soul, have been 
mixed with uncertainty and doubt, and were filled with 
gross absurdities, and numerous contradictions. 

The doctrine of Aristotle and the Peripatetics, gives 
no countenance to the opinion of the soul's immortality, 
or even of its existence after death. Democritus, and 
his followers taught that the soul is material and mortal. 
Heraclkus, that when the soul is purified from moist 



NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 21 

vapors, it returns into the soul of the universe; if not, 
perishes. Epicurus, and his followers, that "when 
death is, we are not/' Cicero alternated between 
unbelief and doubt; but never between doubt and cer- 
tainty, with regard to the soul's immortality. Pliny 
declares that "the soul and body have no more sense 
after death, than before we were born." Csesar, "that 
beyond death there is neither place for care or joy." 
Though Seneca speaks of a divine part within us, which 
joins us to the gods, and that the day which he fears as 
his last, is the birth-day of eternity — yet, on other 
occasions he speaks out plainly, and says, " that death 
makes us incapable of good or evil." 

The poets, it is true, spoke of a state of future re- 
wards and punishments. They had the joys of Elysium, 
and the tortures of Tartarus; but both poets and 
philosophers regarded them as vulgar fables. Virgil 
g not hide this, and numerous quotations of the same 
import might be given both from him and other of their 
poets. 

a Happy the man, whose vigorous soul can pierce 
Through the formation of this universe; 
Who nobly dares despise, with soul sedate, 
The din of Acheron and vulgar fate/' 

Nor was the skepticism and unbelief of the wise and 
great, long kept from the vulgar, among whom they 
wished to maintain the old superstitions, as instruments 
by which they might be controlled. Cicero complains 
that the common people in his day mostly followed the 
doctrine of Epicurus. 

Since then these erroneous and mischievous views 
concerning God, providence and a future state, or the total 



22 NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

denial of them all, are found to have resulted from the 
rejection or loss of the primitive traditions; and further, 
as it is clear that such errors are totally subversive of 
the fundamental principles of morals and religion, and 
afford inducement to the commission of every species 
of crime, without remorse or fear of punishment; the 
necessity of a republication of these great doctrines, in 
an explicit and authentic manner, and of institutions 
for teaching and enforcing them upon all ranks of men, 
is evident ; and whatever proof may be adduced for the 
authentication of the christian revelation, it can never 
be pretended that a revelation to restore these great 
principles was not called for by the actual condition of 
man. And in proportion to the necessity of the case, 
is the strength of the presumption that one has been 
mercifully afforded. 

II. State of morals among heathen nations. 

The argument drawn from the state of morals among 
the heathen, is simple and obvious. 

If the nature, extent, and obligation of morals rules 
had become involved in great misapprehension and 
obscurity; if what they knew of right and wrong wanted 
an enforcement, and an authority which it could not 
receive from their respective systems; and if, for want 
of efficient counteracting religious principles, the gene- 
ral practice had become irretrievably vicious — a direct 
interposition of the Divine Being was required for the 
republication of moral rules, and for their stronger 
enforcement. 

The notions of all civilized heathens, on moral sub- 
jects, like their knowledge of the first principles of 
religion, mingled as they were with their superstitions. 



NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 23 

prove that both were derived from a common source. 
There was a substantial agreement among them in 
many questions of right and wrong; but the boundaries 
which they themselves acknowledged, were not kept 
up, and the rule was gradually lowered to the practice, 
though not in all cases so as entirely to efface the origi- 
nal communications. 

This is an important consideration, inasmuch as it 
indicates the transmission of both religion and morals 
from the patriarchal system, and both the primitive 
doctrines and their corresponding morals received 
early sanctions, the force of which was felt through 
succeeding ages. It shows, too, that even the heathen 
have always been under a moral government. The 
laws of God have never been quite obliterated, though 
their practice has ever been before their knowledge, 
and though the law itself was greatly and wilfully 
corrupted through the influence of their vicious incli- 
nations. 

Though many, if not all of the heathen nations, have 
been sensible of the obligation of some of the precepts 
of the second Table, which embodied the morals of the 
patriarchal ages, under a new sanction, yet, in all, the 
rule was perverted in theory, and violated in practice. 
Murder has, in all ages, and among all civilized, and 
most savage heathen nations also, been regarded as an 
atrocious crime; and the rule was so far accommodated 
to the violent and ferocious habits of men, as to fill 
every heathen land with blood-guiltiness. The slight 
regard paid to the life of man in all heathen countries, 
cannot have escaped the notice of reflective minds. 
C 



24 NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

They knew the rule; but the act,' under its grosser and 
more deliberate forms only, was thought to violate it. 

Among the Romans, men were murdered in their 
very pastimes, by being made to fight with wild beasts 
and with each other; and though this was sometimes 
condemned, yet the passion for blood increased, and no 
war ever caused so great a slaughter as did the gladia- 
torial combats. They were at first confined to the 
funerals of great persons. The first show of this kind, 
exhibited in Rome by the Bruti, on the death of their 
father, consisted of three couples; but afterwards the 
number greatly increased. Julius Caesar presented 
three hundred pairs of gladiators ; and the Emperor 
Trajan, ten thousand of them for the entertainment of 
people. At one time, these horrid exhibitions deprived 
Europe of twenty thousand lives in one month. And 
though Cicero, Seneca, and others condemned these 
barbarities, it was in so incidental and indifferent a 
manner as to produce no effect. They were not abol- 
ished until after the establishment of Christianity. 

The lives of slaves, among the heathens, were re- 
garded no more than the lives of beasts. They knew 
and acknowledged the evil of murder, and had laws for 
its punishment. But to this despised class of human 
beings, they did not extend the rule; so that killing 
slaves, among them, was not accounted murder. The 
master had absolute power of life, or death, or torture; 
and their lives were therefore sacrificed in the most 
barbarous and wanton manner. The youth of Sparta 
made it their pastime frequently to lie in ambush by 
night for slaves, and sally out with daggers, and mur- 
der them in cool blood. The destruction of children, 



NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 25 

also, under some circumstances, was not regarded as a 
crime. Consequently, it was common for them to 
strangle, drown, or expose infants, especially if sickly 
or deformed. This expedient was approbated and en- 
joined by the most celebrated sages and legislators, in 
order to rid the state of useless or troublesome members. 
The same practice continues to this day, to a most 
affecting extent, not only among uncivilized pagans, 
but among the Hindoos and Chinese. 

The practice of suicide was allowed, or rather recom- 
mended by them. And meekness, by Aristotle, is con- 
sidered a defect, because the meek man will not avenge 
himself — and revenge is a more manly thing. 

They had laws against adultery; and the higher the 
antiquity of the times, the more respect we see paid to 
chastity, and the better was the practice. Nor was the 
act only considered by some of their moralists as sinful; 
but the thought and desire — as may be observed in 
passages both in Greek and Roman writers. But as to 
this vice, too, as well as others, the practice lowered the 
rule ; and the authority of one lawgiver and moralist 
being neutralized by another, license was given to 
unbounded offence. 

Lawgivers, statesmen, philosophers, and moralists, 
gave the sanction of their opinions and their practice 
to the vice of licentiousness; which foul blot of ancient 
heathenism continues to this day to mark the morals of 
pagan countries. 

Usury, extortion, and fraud, were rather regarded 
as laudable acts, than as injurious to character; and so 
they continue to be esteemed wherever Christianity has 



26 NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

not issued her authoritative laws against injustice in ail 
its degrees. Throughout India, there is said to be 
scarcely such a thing as common honesty. 

It was well known " that no lie was to be used in 
contracts;" but they more frequently departed from 
this rule than enjoined it The rule of Menander was, 
" a lie is better than a hurtful truth." Plato says, " he 
may lie, who knows how to do it in a Jit season;" and 
Maximus Tyrius, " that there is nothing decorous in 
truth, but when it is profitable;" and both Plato and the 
Stoics frame a Jesuitical distinction between lying with 
the lips and in the mind. Deceit and falsehood have 
been, therefore, the character of all pagan nations, and 
continues to be to the present day. This is the char- 
acter of the Chinese, as given by the best authorities. 
And of the Hindoos it is stated by the most respectable 
men, not merely missionaries, but by those who have 
long held official civil and judicial situations among 
them, that their disregard for truth is uniform and 
systematic. 

The prevalence of perjury among them, is so univer- 
sal as to involve the judges in extreme perplexity. 

Though we believe, from the testimony within our 
reach, that heathen nations derived many of their doc- 
trines and morals from the patriarchal system, through 
the medium of tradition, or otherwise; yet we think 
that in consequence of the doctrines being by them 
adapted to their wicked desires; and the rules of moral- 
ity being lowered by their vicious practices, a direct 
interposition on the part of God was necessary, in order 
to restore truth and happiness to the world. 



NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 27 

III. Worship of heathen nations. 

It appears to be natural for all nations to adopt some 
mode of worship, and to pay their adorations either to 
the God that made the heavens and the earth, or to some 
of his creatures. And it is a well authenticated fact, 
that those who are the most enlightened, are the most 
consistent in their mode of worship. And that mode 
which is the most consistent, must be the best calculated 
to exalt and glorify the true God, and increase the 
felicity of man. But every one who is acquainted with 
the history of the heathens, wifl acknowledge that the 
different modes of worship and objects of adoration, 
which they have adopted, are well calculated to dishonor 
the true God, diminish their own happiness, and render 
them unuseful members of society. 

The horrible practice of offering human sacrifices, 
prevailed throughout every region of the heathen world 
to a degree almost incredible, and it still prevails in many 
populous countries where Christianity has not yet been 
made known. There are incontestable proofs of its 
having subsisted among the Egyptians, the Syrians, the 
Persians, the Phoenicians, and all the various nations of 
the 'East. It was one of the crying sins of the Canaan- 
ites. The contagion spread over every part of Asia, 
Africa, and Europe. The Greeks and Romans, though 
less involved in this guilt than many other nations, were 
not altogether untainted with it. On great and extraor- 
dinary occasions, they had recourse to what was es- 
teemed the most efficacious and most meritorious sacrifice 
that could be offered to the gods, the effusion of human 
blood. But among more barbarous nations this practice 
C* 



28 NECESSITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 

took a firmer root. The Scythians and Thracians, the 
Gauls and the Germans, were strongly addicted to it ; 
and the British islands, while under the gloomy and 
ferocious despotism of the Druids, were polluted with 
the religious murder of their inhabitants. In the semi- 
civilized kingdoms of the western side of Africa, as 
Dahony, Ashantee, and others, man^ thousands fall 
every year victims to superstition. In America, Mon- 
tezuma offered twenty thousand victims yearly to the 
sun ; and modern navigators have found the practice 
throughout the whole extent of the vast Pacific ocean. 
As for India, the' cries of its abominable and cruel super- 
stitions have been repeatedly sounded in our ears ; and 
we may safely say, that not fewer than ten thousand 
lives fall a sacrifice to idolatry within its boundaries 
annually. 

The religions of pagans have been as productive of 
impurity as of blood. The Floral ia, among the Romans, 
was celebrated for four days together, by the most 
shameless actions ; and their mysteries, in every coun- 
try, became horribly corrupt. It was in the temples of 
many of their deities, and on their religious festivals, 
that every kind of impurity was practiced, and continues 
to the present day throughout all the regions of modern 
paganism. 

This immoral tendency of their religion was confirmed 
and perfected by the very character and actions of their 
gods, whose names were perpetually in their mouths ; 
and. whose murderous and obscene exploits, whose vil- 
lanies and chicaneries, whose hatred and strifes, were 
the subjects of their popular legends, which made up in 



NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 29 

fact the only theology, if so it may be called, of the 
body of the people. That they should be better than 
gods, was not to be expected ; and worse they could not 
be. Deities, with such attributes, could not but corrupt, 
and be appealed to not merely to excuse, but to sanction 
the worst practices. 

Their gods were not only corrupt, but numerous. 
Thousands of the most degraded objects were worshiped 
by these deluded beings, and the utmost confidence was 
placed in those whose power they dreaded, and whose 
vicious habits they copied. Thus the greatest ignorance 
on divine subjects prevailed. The learned were involved 
in inextricable perplexities, and the unlearned received 
as truth the most absurd and monstrous fables — all of 
them, however favorable to vicious indulgence. St. 
Paul's description of every ancient heathen state, in the 
first chapter of Romans, is supported by the evidence 
of their own historians and poets. This is the condition 
of all mankind, who have not had the benefits of the 
doctrines and morals of the holy scriptures. Where 
the scriptures are unknown, there is not, and never has 
been, since the corruption of the primitive religion, a 
religious system which has contained just views of God, 
and religious truth — none which has enjoined a correct 
morality, or even opposed any effectual barrier against 
the deterioration of public manners. These facts cannot 
be denied : for the allegations formerly made of the mo- 
rality of modern pagan nations, have been sufficiently 
refuted by a better acquaintance with them ; and the 
conclusion is irresistible, that an express revelation of 
the will of God, as contained in the christian religion, 
accompanied with efficient corrective institutions, was 



30 NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY* 

become necessary, and is still demanded by the igno- 
rance and viees, the miseries and disorders, of every 
part of the earth into which Christianity has not been 
introduced. 



LECTURE II. 

NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY, SHOWN FROM THE DEFECTS 
OF NATURAL RELIGION. 

" When struggling nature heaves the parting sigh, 
And hope and tear maintain a doubtful strife, 
Why shrinks the firm philosopher to die ? 
Why clings the trembling infidel to life?'' 

Another strong argument on the necessity of Chris- 
tianity, is drawn from the defects of natural religion, 
or that religion which men discover in the sole exercise 
of their natural faculties, without higher assistance. 
This is the kind of religion embraced and contended 
for by the rejecters of revelation ; and having adopted 
a religion of their own, they discard the religion of 
the Bible. 

But from an examination of their religion, we find it 
to be extremely defective, and will not answer any im- 
portant ends. And if it can be made to appear, that it 
is so defective as not to meet the wants and desires of 
suffering humanity, it must be admitted that something 
more is absolutely necessary. In noticing the defects of 
natural religion, we shall endeavor, 

I. To show that the views it gives concerning the ex- 
istence, nature, and moral government of God are in- 
consistent, imperfect, and unsatisfactory. 

Men may eloquently descant upon the works of nature, 



32 NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

and the strength of human reason, in order to prove the 
existence of the Divine Architect; but leave them 
entirely destitute of the light and information which 
tradition, the Holy Spirit, and the written word of God 
afford, and their reasoning will be very w T eak and in- 
conclusive. How can we believe in Him of whom we 
have not heard ? And how can we hear unless it be told 
us? "The voice of nature tells us," says the Deist. 
We grant that the voice of nature is heard, but its 
report is not satisfactory, for it does not convey to us 
sufficient evidence that an infinitely wise Creator exists. 
Effects appear in the universe, but we cannot tell, by 
the light of nature alone, whether one or more causes 
were engaged in producing them. If we had never 
felt or heard of fire, how could we know any thing of 
its existence ? "By its effects on vegetables, minerals, 
&c.," says natural religion. We see its effects, it is 
true^ but how do we know but that these effects exist in 
the same form given them at their creation ? It is no 
more reasonable to suppose that fire exists, because we 
behold certain effects or appearances in nature, than it 
is to suppose that these effects were produced by some 
dtker unheard of cause. And yet these effects prove 
the existence of fire, just as much as nature, or natural 
religion, proves the existence of God, independently of a 
revelation. The man who reasons from the works of 
ziature alone, to prove the Divine existence, reminds us 
of one, who, being enveloped in profound darkness, 
endeavors to prove, from the sense of feeling, or some 
other way, that there is such a thing as light, though he 
never saw or heard of such a thing. And it is more 
absurd still, to suppose that the nature and government 



NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 33 

of God can be ascertained by the light of natural reli- 
gion. The Deist is one of the first to declare that God 
is wise, perfect, and good ; and yet he cannot, or will 
not, go beyond the book of nature to learn his lesson — 
consequently he has no assistance, besides that which 
his natural faculties and external sensation afford. But 
according to the infidel hypothesis, the perfection, good- 
ness, and wisdom of God,, are mixed with imperfection, 
cruelty, and folly; and his government (if any he has) 
exhibits ten thousand inexplicable evils. 

Look at the works of nature, in their present form, 
and these facts will soon appear. While we are blessed 
with refreshing breezes, we are cursed with pestilential 
vapors and destructive tornadoes. If Heaven sends 
peace and plenty, at one time, at another, war and 
famine spread abroad their devouring influence. While 
we are favored with domestic animals for the servile use 
of man, we are liable to be devoured by ravenous beasts 
of prey. In the vast field of nature, we discover, by 
the researches of science, medicinal plants and mine- 
rals; but we also discover those which are deleterious 
to the nature of man. Nature also produces luxurious 
fruits and blooming flowers ; but thistles, thorns, and 
briars spring up in every land, which torment the hu- 
man species. While the sun pours forth his enlighten- 
ing rays, many fall victims to their scorch? ng influence. 
In one place we behold delightful forests, but in another 
we see barren wastes, or rugged mountains. Are our 
ears delighted with harmonious sounds, muttering thun- 
ders and dreadful holdings also vibrate upon our nerves r 
Are our eyes pleased with a thousand beautiful objects, 
they are also pained with objects of disgust. 



34 NECESSITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 

But look at man himself, and behold the contrast 
While some roll in grandeur and affluence, others groan 
beneath the iron yoke of poverty. While some are 
blest with health and prosperity, others are wasting 
away with pining sickness, or wandering through the 
dark vale of adversity, disappointed at every turn. 
While some enjoy the blessings of literature and civili- 
zation, thousands are enveloped in heathen ignorance 
and superstition. 

Now can we reasonably suppose that a God of good- 
ness and mercy would cause such a contrast in nature, 
and such an unequal distribution of happiness among 
his creatures? If these opposite effects are produced 
by the Creator, without any reference to the agency 
or conduct of man, it argues that he is not a perfect 
being; and instead of regarding and promoting the 
felicity of his rational creatures, he sets in operation a 
thousand means, and makes use of a thousand instru- 
ments to make them miserable. The conclusion is, 
that a religion that cannot give satisfactory evidence 
concerning the existence, nature, and government of 
God, is defective. And that religion that is defective, 
cannot be true. It dishonors God, and degrades rational 
beings. 

II. Natural religion cannot prescribe proper rules 
of moral virtue. 

If man, separate from revelation, cannot prove the 
being, and show the moral nature of a Supreme Intelli- 
gence, it is more difficult still to prescribe proper rules 
of moral virtue, for the government of our race. For 
the will of God must be contained in such rules, in 
order to give them proper authority and influence. And 



NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 35 

no man, in his senses, will undertake to show what the 
will of a being is, of whose existence and nature he 
knows nothing. 

But suppose that the will of God has nothing to do 
directly with the government of men; and yet it is 
necessary to have some rule adapted to the powers and 
circumstances of the rational world. Who is able, in 
the use of his natural faculties, to present this rule? 
Infidels tell us to follow reason. But reason, alone, in 
the hands of the greatest philosophers, has never been 
able to give us just and consistent rules concerning our 
duty; especially, in relation to justice, temperance, and 
benevolence. The opinions of philosophers on these 
subjects have been as various and numerous as the 
opinions of the Greeks concerning what the Roman 
philosophers called the summum bonwn, or the "supreme 
good.' 7 Yet but one opinion could be correct, if the 
truth were among them. We must either conclude 
that a consistent and perfect rule of conduct does not 
exist within the precincts of natural religion, or that its 
greatest champions have been unable to discover it to 
the world. Though infidel and heathen philosophers 
have said many things that were sublime and pure con- 
cerning God, while they availed themselves of the light 
of revelation, which shone upon them through some 
medium, they had extremely imperfect conceptions of 
every thing which relates to our duties to man, and 
especially to every thing which relates to God. They 
offered no sufficient motives to obedience; they were 
established on subtle reasonings, which could not be 
understood by the common people; and they imposed 
no obligations upon their disciples to disseminate them 
D 



36 NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

among others. Hence they were never extensively 
known beyond the small circle of meditative students; 
and by these they were considered rather as matters of 
doubtful speculation, than of practical benefit; designed 
rather to the cultivation of intellectual accuteness, than 
the reformation of moral conduct. 

It may be proper here, to add some reasons why man 
cannot, in the use of his natural faculties alone, 
prescribe consistent rules of moral action. In the 
first place, he is to search for these rules under the 
influence of a morally depraved mind — that is, a mind 
both polluted and enervated. This will readily appear 
from a strict examination even of what passes in our 
own breasts. All the corruption, weakness, and con- 
tradictory inclinations, we discover there, would not 
exist, was man possessed of the same moral nature 
imparted by his Maker — for God creates nothing im- 
perfect or contradictory. And while man possesses a 
morally corrupt nature, how can he, without higher 
assistance, prescribe perfect rules of action? The 
second reason is — the same depraved judgment that is 
exercised in ascertaining the rules, is to judge of their 
truth and necessity; and their adaptation to man's mo-* 
ral ahility and condition. And if man is to be his own 
judge of these things,would he not incline (as heathens 
have done) to lower the rules, so as to suit his vitiated 
taste, and morally weak condition, rather than enforce 
rules that prohibit evil thoughts, words, and actions; 
and require property, time, and talents, to be improved 
to the glory of God and the welfare of man? 0/, assert 
with the skeptic, that no rule is necessary, and that 
mankind may follow the dictates of nature, while they 



NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 37 

are amenable to no higher tribunal? And if nature be 
followed, anarchy and confusion, bloodshed and car- 
nage, will fill our world, as they once did unhappy 
France, under the reign of depraved reason f 

III. There can be no necessity or propriety in adopt- 
ing rules of moral virtue, unless they have a tendency 
to reform mankind. 

And that the rules contained in the religion of nature 
are unable to produce this effect, the history of all na- 
tions, destitute of the holy scriptures, evidently proves. 
Their history exhibits a constant tendency to deterio- 
ration. 

This is acknowledged in the fact, that heathens con- 
sider their period of greatest moral purity, as the earliest 
period of their history. Then the gods and men had 
frequent intercourse. This intercourse, inconsequence 
of the sins of men, has since been broken off- That 
was the golden age ; the subsequent ages have been of 
brass or of iron. The practical history of men seems 
to teach the same lesson. In the early ages of national 
existence, sparseness of population, mutual fear, and 
universal poverty, have obliged men, as far as they were 
able, to lay the foundations of society, in principles of 
justice, in order to secure national existence. But, as 
soon as, under such a constitution, wealth has increased, 
population become dense, and progress in arts and 
arms, have rendered a nation fearless, the anti-social 
tendencies of vice have shown themselves too powerful 
for the moral forces by which they have been opposed. 
The bonds of society have been gradually dissolved, and 
a nation which gloried in the spoils of a hundred tri- 
umphs, becomes the prey of some warlike and more 



38 NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

covetous horde, which takes possession of the spoil, 
merely to pursue the same career to a more speedy 
termination. 

We may also add, that the systems of religion among 
heathens, may he fairly considered as the legitimate 
result of the moral forces which are in operation upon 
man, irrespective of revelation, throughout the world. 
They show us what man has actually learned in the 
use of his faculties, while contending with a tide of 
moral deformity, and destitute of the sacred scriptures. 
Now, these systems, so far from having any tendency 
to make men better, have a manifest tendency to make 
them worse — as is seen in the morality of heathens 
and freethinkers. They made no converts from vice 
to virtue; and from the era of none of these systems, 
can any reformation be dated. Facts have abundantly 
proved them to be utterly destitute of any power over 
the conscience, or of any practical influence over the 
conduct of men. Nor can this failure be attributed to 
any want of intellectual cultivation. Eloquence, poetry, 
rhetoric, and some of the severer sciences, have been 
called in as auxiliaries, in an age, too, that has not 
for several ages been surpassed. This is universally 
confessed. Yet what progress did the classic ages 
make in morals? Or what has been the moral condi- 
tion of the nation that has renounced entirely the doc- 
trines, morality, and influence of Christianity, and 
followed the religion of nature? Let infidel France 
answer this question. During the greater part of the 
revolution, which it is now well known w r as effected by 
the abettors of infidelity, they possessed the supreme 
power and government of that country, and attempted 



NECESSITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 39 

to dispose of human happiness according to their own 
doctrines and wishes. 

The great majority of the nation had become infidels. 
The name and profession'of Christianity were renounced 
by the legislature; and the abolition of the christian era 
was proclaimed. Death was declared, by an act of the 
government, to be an eternal sleep. The existence of 
the Deity, and the immortality of the soul were formally 
disavowed by the National Convention; and the doctrine 
of the resurrection from the dead, was declared to have 
been preached by Superstition for the torment of the 
living. All the religions in the world were proclaimed 
to be the daughters of ignorance and pride; and it was 
decreed to be the duty of the Convention to assume the 
honorable office of disseminating atheism over all the 
world. As a part of this duty, the Convention further 
decreed, that its express renunciation of all religious 
worship should, like its invitations to rebellion, be 
translated into all foreign languages; and it was assert- 
ed and received in the Convention, that the adversaries 
of religion had deserved well of their country! Cor- 
respondent with these professions and declarations 
were the effects actually produced. Public worship 
was utterly abolished. The churches were converted 
into temples of reason; in which atheistical and licen- 
tious homilies were substituted for the proscribed ser- 
vice; and an absurd and ludicrous imitation .of the 
pagan mythology was exhibited under the title of the 
" religion of reason." In the principal churches of 
every town a tutelary goddess was installed with a 
ceremony equally pedantic, frivolous, and profane; 
and the females selected to personify this new divinity, 
D* 



40 NECESSITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 

were mostly prostitutes, who received the adorations of 
the attendant municipal officers, and of the multitudes, 
whom fear, or force, or motives of gain, had collected 
on the occasion. Contempt for religion or decency, 
became the test of attachment to the government; and 
the gross infraction of any moral or social duty was 
deemed a proof of civism, and a victory over prejudice. 
All distinctions of right and wrong were confounded. 
The grossest debauchery triumphed. Then proscrip- 
tion followed upon proscription ; tragedy followed after 
tragedy in almost breathless succession, on the theater 
of France ; almost the whole nation was converted into 
a horde of assassins ; atheism and fanaticism, hand in 
hand, desolated the country, and converted it into one 
vast field of rapine and blood. 

The moral and social ties were unloosed, or rather 
torn asunder. For a man to accuse his own father was 
declared to be an act of civism, worthy of a true repub- 
lican ; and to neglect it was pronounced a crime that 
should be punished with death. Accordingly, women 
denounced their husbands, and mothers their sons, as 
bad citizens and traitors ; while many women — not of 
the class of the common people, nor of infamous repu- 
tation, but respectable in character and appearance — 
seized with savage ferocity between their teeth the man- 
gled limbs of their murdered countrymen. France, 
during this period, was a theater of crimes, which, 
after all preceding perpetrations, have excited in the 
mind of every spectator, amazement and horror. 

The miseries suffured by that single nation, have 
changed ail the histories of the preceding suffe rings of 
mankind into idle tales, and have been enhanced and 



NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 41 

multiplied, without a precedent, without a number, and 
without a name. The kingdom appeared to be changed 
into one great prison ; the inhabitants converted into 
felons ; and the common doom of man commuted for 
the violence of the sword and bayonet, the sucking- 
boat and the guillotine. To contemplative men, it seemed 
for a season, as if the knell of the whole nation was 
tolled, and the world summoned to its execution and its 
funeral- Within the short time of ten years, not less 
than three millions of human beings were supposed 
to have perished in that single country, by the influence 
of infidelity, or the "religion of reason." Were the 
world to adopt and be governed by the doctrines of revo- 
lutionary France, what crimes would not men perpe- 
trate? What agonies would they not suffer? 

If the principles of natural religion in that instance 
failed to reform men, surely we may despair of their 
ever producing this effect. Something more is neces- 
sary to accomplish this much desired work in the hearts 
and lives of men. 

IV. The defects of natural religion are also seen in 
its incompetency to constitute its votaries happy. 

This strengthens the testimony in favor of the neces- 
sity of revealed religion. 

Whatever religion mankind embrace, their calculation 
is, that happiness will be derived from it, whether they 
make a theoretical or practical use of it. And it is 
reasonable to conclude that the religion established by 
our Maker, whether natural or revealed, will not fail 
to happify its possessor. 

Now if there be no such thing as a revelation from 
God, it is to natural religion alone we must look for 



42 NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

happiness. But from a close examination of this subject, 
we shall find, that a religion discovered by the exercise 
of the faculties alone, without higher assistance, is not 
competent to impart substantial happiness to man. 
Natural religion is not adapted to the vast capacity and 
desires of man. It confines the soul to earthly objects 
and pursuits. But every man's experience proves that 
the productions of earth cannot fill the capacity, and 
satisfy the longing desires of his soul. Great posses- 
sions, grandeur, and fame, are all mixed with evils that 
mar his peace. And if he depends on the external 
senses, ideas of disagreeable objects are conveyed to 
his mind; so that happiness cannot be derived from 
this source. The religion of nature has but one more 
resort — and that is, a gratification of the sensual appe- 
tites and propensities. But, from examination, we 
discover that propensities and appetites both oppose each 
other in different persons, and in the same individuals, 
and lead to disappointment and misery. And while our 
propensities point out different courses for us to pursue, 
and oppose each other, by which we must be governed? 
If by any particular one, what shall we do with the 
others? It is not possible for us to be governed by all 
of our natural inclinations. We must, therefore, con- 
clude that there is a redundancy in our nature, which is 
not only of no use, but detrimental to us; and the follow- 
ing of any particular inclination, will not terminate in 
happiness. Thus we discover, that natural religion 
fails, in every instance, to impart felicity to its votaries. 
But let this be illustrated more fully and strikingly by 
the last moments and dying testimony of those who 
have not only embraced this religion themselves, but 



NECESSITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 43 

exerted themselves to the utmost, to induce others to 
embrace it, and in too many instances unhappily suc- 
ceeded — testimony which infidels would conceal, were 
it in their power; but which will, in spite of all their 
philosophy, vibrate upon their nerves until the latest 
generation. 

While a Paul, a Peter, and John, and the whole host 
of martyrs could survey, unmoved, death in its most 
terrific forms; while many have vehemently longed for 
its approach, desiring to depart and be with Christ ; 
while some have exulted in the midst of the most excru- 
ciating bodily tortures, Voltaire endured horrors never 
to be expressed. His associates have endeavored to 
conceal the fact, but the evidence is too strong to be 
disputed. Like Herod, who was smitten by an angel 
while receiving homage from men; so immediately after 
his return from the theater, in which he had been in- 
haling the incense of adulation from a silly populace, 
he felt that the stroke of death had arrested him. Im- 
mediately his friends crowded around him, and his 
brethren, of the illuminati, exhorted him to die like a 
hero. But in spite of their admonitions, he sent for the 
Cure of St. Gervais, and after confession, signed in the 
presence of the Abbe Mignot, (his nephew,) and of the 
Marquis de Villeville, (one of the illuminati,) his recant- 
ation of his former principles. After this visit the Cure 
was no more allowed to see him. His former friends, 
having obtained possession of his house, interdicted all 
access to him. It has, however crept out, by means of 
the nurse who attended him, that he died in unutterable 
agony of mind. 

D'Alembert, Diderot, and about twenty others, who 



44 NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

beset his apartment, never approached him without re- 
ceiving some bitter execration. Often would he curse 
them, and exclaim, " Retire ! I could have done without 
you all ; but you could not exist without me. And 
what a wretched glory have you procured me ! M These 
reproaches were succeeded by the dreadful recollection 
of his own part, in their conspiracy against religion. 
He w r as heard, in anguish and in dread, alternately 
supplicating or blaspheming that God against whom he 
had conspired. He would cry out, in the most plaintive 
accents, " Oh, Christ ! Oh, Jesus Christ ! !" and then 
complain that ho was abandoned by God and man. It 
seemed as if the hand which traced of old the sentence 
of an impious king, now traced before his eyes his own 
blasphemies. In vain he turned away from the contem- 
plation of them. The time was coming apace, when he 
was to appear before the tribunal of Him whom he had 
blasphemed ; and his physicians, particularly Dr. Tron- 
chin, calling in to administer relief, thunderstruck, 
retired. His associates would, no doubt, willingly have 
suppressed these facts; but it was in vain. The Mares- 
chal de Richlieu fled from his bedside, declaring it to be 
a sight too terrible to be endured ; and Dr. Tronchin 
observed, that the furies of Orestes could give but a 
faint idea of those of Voltaire. 

The last hours of D ? Alembert were like those of 
Voltaire. Condorcet boasts, that he refused admission 
to the Cure, on his second visit. Such a refusal evi- 
dently shows that he feared what an interview would 
disclose. 

Hume, instead of meeting death with the calmness of 
a philosopher, played the buffoon in that awful hour ; 



NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 45 

proving by his comic actions his anxiety to drown seri- 
ous thought. 

Diderot and Gibbon discovered the same anxiety, by 
deeply interesting themselves with the most trifling 
amusements. 

The last hours of Paine were such as might have been 
expected from his previous immoral and unprincipled 
habits. Though in reply to the inquiry of his medical 
attendant, whether he believed, or wished to believe, 
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, he declared that he 
'•had no wish to believe on that subject."' yet, during 
the paroxysms of his distress and pain, he would invoke 
the name of that Saviour whom he had blasphemed by 
his writing.-, in a tone of voice that would alai'm the 
house ; and at length he expired, undeplored and de- 
tested by his adopted countrymen. A conduct like this 
proves that there was one spark of horror left in 'the 
souls of these antagonists of revelation, which all their 
philosophical efforts were unable to extinguish. 

Mr. Hobbes, that notorious skeptic and semi-atheist, 
exhibits testimony, in his last moments, well calculated 
to prove that the religion of nature was insufficient to 
calm the troubles of his soul, and give him a smooth 
and triumphant passage to the tomb. He had been the 
means of poisoning many young gentlemen, and others, 
with his wicked principles, as the Earl of Rochester 
confessed, with extreme compunction, on his death-bed. 
It was remarked, by those who narrowly observed his 
conduct, that though in a humor of bravado he would 
speak strange and unbecoming things of God, yet in his 
study in the dark, and in his retired thoughts, he trem- 
bled before him. 



46 NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

He could not endure to be left alone in an empty 
house. He could not, even in his old age, bear any 
discourse of death: and seemed to cast off all thoughts 
of it. He could not bear to sleep in the dark ; and if 
his candle happened to go out in the night, he would 
awake in terror and amazement — a plain indication that 
he was unable to bear the dismal reflections of his 
dark and desolate mind, and knew not how, in this awful 
moment, to extinguish the light of " the candle of the 
Lord" within him. He is said to have left the world 
with great reluctance, under terrible apprehensions of 
a dark and unknown futurity. His dying words were 
such as we might expect from a man of such principles 
and habits — words that should warn and influence all 
to shun his example, that they may not die his death. 
Hear them — "I am about to take a leap into the dark !" 
Thus died this unhappy man, confirming the truth, 
that natural religion is not competent to happify the soul 
in the hour of death, and that rejecters of Christianity 
will not go unpunished. 

The celebrated Tully gives us an account of a young 
man, by the name of Servin, whose life and death illus- 
trate the truth of our position. He was a man of genius, 
and extensive understanding ; and of so vast and ready 
a comprehension, that he immediately made himself 
master of what he attempted. His memory was sucri 
that he never forgot what he had once learned. He 
possessed all parts of philosophy and the mathematics ; 
and was well skilled even in theology. He not only 
understood Greek, Hebrew, and the languages which 
are called learned ; but also the different jargons, or 
modern dialects. He accented and pronounced them so 



NECESSITY OP CHRISTIANITY- 47 

naturally, and so perfectly imitated the gestures and 
manners both of the several nations of Europe and the 
particular provinces of France, that he might have been 
taken for a native of all or any of those countries. He 
was, moreover, the best comedian, and greatest droll, 
that perhaps ever appeared. He had a genius for 
poetry, and had written many verses. He was of a 
disposition to do, as well as to know, all things. He 
was light, nimble, dexterous, and fit for all exercises. 
He could ride well, and in dancing, wrestling and leap- 
ing, he was admired. There were not any recreative 
games that he did net know; and he was skilled in almost 
all the mechanic arts. "But now for the reverse of 
the medal." Says Sully, "Here it appeared that he 
was treacherous, cruel, cowardly, deceitful, a liar, a 
cheat, a drunkard, and a glutton ; a sharper in play, 
immersed in every species of vice ; a blasphemer, an 
Atheist ! In a word, in him might be found all the vices 
contrary to nature, honor, religion and society — the 
truth of which he himself evinced with his latest breath, 
for he died in the flower of his age, in a common brothel, 
perfectly corrupted by his debaucheries ; and expired 
with a glass in his hand, cursing and denying God!" 

Emerson was an infidel, and one of the first mathe- 
maticians of the age. Though in some respects he 
might be considered a worthy man, his conduct through 
life was rude, vulgar, and frequently immoral. He 
paid no attention to religious duties, and both intoxica- 
tion and profane language were familiar to him. Towards 
the close of his days, being afflicted with the stone, he 
would crawl about the floor on his hands and knees, 
E 



43 NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

sometimes praying, and sometimes swearing. What a 
poor creature is man, destitute of the divine favor ! 

Cumberland gives a most mournful tale concerning a 
gentleman of infidel principles. "I remember him in 
the height of his fame, the hero of his party. No man 
so caressed, followed, and applauded. He was a little 
loose, his friends would own, in his moral character, 
but then he was the most honest fellow in the world. 
It was not to be denied that he. was rather free in his 
notions, but then he was the best creature living. I 
have seen men of the gravest characters wink at his 
sallies, because he was so pleasant and well bred it was 
impossible to be angry with him. Every thing went 
well with him, and Antitheus seemed to.be at the summit 
of human prosperity, when he was suddenly seized with 
the most alarming symptoms. He was at his country 
house, and which rarely happened to him, at that time 
alone. Wife, or family, he had none, and out of the 
multitude of his friends, no one happened to be near 
him at the moment of his attack. A neighboring phy- 
sician was called out of bed in the night, to come to him 
with all haste in this extremity. He found him sitting 
up in bed, supported by pillows; his countenance full of 
horror; his breath struggling as in the article of death; 
his pulse intermitting, and at times beating with such 
rapidity as could hardly be counted. Antitheus dis- 
missed the attendants he had about him, and eagerly 
demanded of the physician, if he thought him in danger? 
The physician answered that he must faithfully tell him 
he was in imminent danger. How so! how so! Do you 
think me dying? He was sorry to say, that the symp- 
toms indicated death. Impossible! you must not let me 



NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 49 

die! I cannot die! Oh, Doctor! save me if you can! 
Your situation, sir, is such, that it is not in mine or any 
other man's art to save you. I think I should not do 
my duty, if I gave you any false hopes in these mo- 
ments, which, if I am not mistaken, will not more than 
suffice for any worldly or other concerns which you 
may have upon your mind to settle. My mind is full 
of horror, and I am incapable of preparing it for death! 
He now fell into an agony, accompanied with a shower 
of tears. A cordial was administered, and he revived 
in a degree. He declared to his physician that he had 
seen a 'tremendous apparition^ by which he was more 
than ever convinced that he had been i in a fatal error P 
Antitheus survived the relation of his vision a very few 
hours, and died delirious, in great agonies." Thus 
the man died, who by his friends was called " the best 
creature living." What an evidence that every source 
of happiness fails the enemies of Christ, when on a 
dying bed ! 

Addison tells us of a gentleman in France, who was 
a zealous promoter of infidelity, that he had collected a 
select company of disciples, and traveled into all parts 
of the kingdom to make converts. In the midst of his 
fantastical success, he fell sick, and was reclaimed to 
such a sense of his condition, that after he had passed 
some time in great agonies and horrors of mind, he 
begged those who had the care of burying him, to dress 
his body in the habit of a capuchin, that the devil might 
not run away with it ; and to *do further justice upon 
himself, he desired them to tie a halter about his neck, 
as a mark of that ignominious punishment which, in hi3 
own thoughts, he had so yas\\y deserved ! Thus we 



50 NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITT. 

discover the dreadful consequences of trusting to the 
religion of nature for happiness, either in life or in 
death. If this is the way the champions and teachers 
of infidelity leave the world, surely their disciples need 
not expect a more glorious or peaceful death. 

If happiness is not to be derived from what some 
call philosophy, sensual indulgence, or earthly pos- 
sessions ; and if there be no such thing as revealed 
religion, we may despair of ever finding it, and conclude 
that of all creatures we are the most miserable. For 
we wish, we look, we labor and toil, for that which for- 
ever eludes our grasp ; and disappointment and misery 
are our portion under the sun. 

Whether God has given to man a revelation or not, 
we must conclude that one is certainly needed. And 
will our Creator, who is infinitely wise and good, with- 
hold that which he can easily impart, and which his 
rational creatures so greatly need % 

Barnaby, a physician in London, was intimately 
acquainted with an Atheist. After some time he wa* 
seized with a violent fever, and sent for the doctor. Ho 
came and prescribed several medicines, but none of 
them took effect. At length he told him plainly, " Sir, 
I know nothing more that can be done ; you must die/ 7 
Upon this, he clenched his fists, gnashed his teeth, and 
said with the utmost fury, " God ! God ! I won't die ! !" 
and immediately expired. He both owned and denied 
Jiis God, and felt the ruin his sins had wrought 

We shall add to our arguments on the necessity of 
the christian religion, or a revelation from God, the last 
momenta and dying testimony of the brave young Alta- 



NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 51 

rnont, as given by Dr. Young, who was an eye witness 
of his death-bed scene. 

' ; The sad evening before the death of the noble youth, 
whose last hours suggested the most solemn and awful 
reflections, I was with him. No one was present but 
his physician, and an intimate whom he loved, and 
whom he had ruined. At my coming in he said, * You 
and the physician are come too late. I have neither 
life nor hope ! You both aim at miracles ! You would 
raise the dead P Heaven, I said, was merciful — * Or, ? 
exclaimed he, ' I could not have been thus guilty. 
What has it not done to bless and to save me ! I have 
been too strong for Omnipotence ! I have plucked 
down ruin." I said, the blessed Redeemer — 'Hold! 
hold ! you wound me ! That is the rock on which I 
split ! I denied his name P Refusing to hear any 
thing from me, or take any thing from the physician, 
he lay silent, as far as sudden darts of pain would 
permit, till the clock struck : then with vehemence he 
•i, ' Oh ! time ! time ! it is fit thou shouldst 
thus strike thy murderer to the heart ! How art thou 
fled forever ! A month — oh, for a single week ! I ask not 
for years, though an age were too little for the much I have 

loP On my saying we could not do too much — that 
heaven was a blessed place — * So much the worse — ? tis 
lost ! 'tis lost ! Heaven is to me the severest part of hell!' 
Soon after, I proposed prayer. "Pray you that can. 
I never prayed. I cannot pray — nor need I. Is not 
heaven on my side already? It closes with my con- 
science. Its severest strokes but second my own n 
Observing that his friend was much touched at this, even 
to tears — [who could forbear? I could not — ) with a 
E* 



5$ NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

most affectionate look, he said, " Keep those tears for 
thyself. I have undone thee. Dost thou weep for me? 
That is cruel. What can pain me more?" Here his 
friend, too much affected, would have left him. " No, 
stay. Thou still may'st hope: Therefore, hear me. 
How madly have I talked! How madly hast thou lis- 
tened and believed! But look on my present state as a 
full answer to thee and to myself. This body is all 
weakness and pain; but my soul, as if strung up by 
torment to greater strength and spirit, is full powerful 
to reason; full mighty to suffer. And that which thus 
triumphs within the jaws of immortality is doubtless im- 
mortal. And as for .a Deity, nothing less than an 
Almighty could inflict what I feel." 

I was about to congratulate this passive, involuntary 
confessor, on his asserting the prime articles of his 
creed, extorted by the rack of nature, when he thus 
very passionately exclaimed — " No, no! let me speak 
on. I have not long to speak. My much injured friend! 
my soul, as my body lies in ruins; in scattered frag- 
ments of broken thought. Remorse for the past throws 
my thoughts on the future. Worse dread of the future, 
strikes them back on the past. I turn, and turn, and 
find no ray. Didst thou feel half the mountain that is 
on me, thou wouldst struggle with the martyr for his 
stake, and bless Heaven for the flames! — that is not an 
everlasting flame; that h not an unquenchable fire." 

How were we struck ! yet, soon after, still more. 
With what an eye of distraction, what a face of despair, 
he cried out, " My principles have poisoned my friend; 
my extravagance has beggared my boy ! my unkind- 
ness has murdered my wife ! And is there another hell? 



NECESSITY OP CHRISTIANITY". 53 

Oh ! thou blasphemed, yet indulgent Lord God! hell 
itself is a refuge, if it hide me from thy frown !" Soon 
after, his understanding failed. His terrified imagina- 
tion uttered horrors not to be repeated or ever forgot- 
ten. And ere the sun (which, I hope, has seen few 
like him) arose, the gay, young, noble, ingenious, 
accomplished, and most wretched Altamont, expired! 

If this is a man of pleasure, what is a man of pain? 
How quick, how total, is the transit of such persons! 
In what a dismal gloom they set forever! How short, 
alas! the day of their rejoicing! For a moment they 
glitter — they dazzle! In a moment, where are they? 
Oblivion covers their memories. Ah! would it did! 
Infamy snatches them from oblivion. In the long 
living annals of infamy their triumphs are recorded. 
Thy sufferings, poor Altamont! still bleed in the bosom 
of thy heart-stricken friend; for Altamont had a friend; 
he might have had many. His transient morn might have 
been the dawn of an immortal day. His name might 
have been gloriously enrolled in the records of eternity. 
His memory might have left a sweet fragrance behind 
it, grateful to surviving friends; salutary to succeeding 
generations. With what capacity was he endowed ! 
with what advantages for being greatly good! But with 
the talents of an angel, a man may be a fool. If he 
judges amiss m the main point, judging right in all else, 
but aggravates his folly; as it shows him wrong, though 
blessed with the best capacity for being right." 

If the religion of nature was fuliy competent %o con- 
stitute its votaries happy, it is quite singular that it has 
failed in every instance, and that the greatest champions 
of infidelity, who have trusted in it, have renounced it 



54 NECESSITY Of CHRISTIANITY. 

at the approach of death, or have been the most unwil- 
ling to cast their all upon it, when the scenes of futurity- 
rushed upon their vision. 

Oh, how gloomy the reflections of a hopeless immortal 
whose prospect is bounded by the grave! and what 
horrible consequences does the denial of revealed reli- 
gion involve. It throws a veil of darkness over the 
scenes of creation, and Wraps in impenetrable mystery 
the purposes for which man was created. It exhibits 
the moral world as a chaotic mass of discordant ele- 
ments, accomplishing no end, and controlled by no 
intelligent agency. It represents mankind as connected 
with each other merely by time and place; as formed 
merely for sensual enjoyment, and destined to perish 
with the brutes. It subverts the foundations of moral 
action; removes the strongest motives to the practice of 
virtue, and opens the flood-gates of every vice. It 
removes the anchor of hope from the anxious mind, 
and destroys every principle that has a tendency to 
support us in the midst of sufferings. It throws a damp 
on every effort to raise mankind to the dignity of their 
moral and intellectual natures, and is calculated to ob- 
struct the progress of useful science. It prevents the 
mind from investigating and admiring the beauties of 
creation; and involves in a deeper gloom the ruins of 
nature which are scattered over the globe. It termi- 
nates every prospect of becoming more fully acquainted 
with the glories of the firmanent, and every hope of 
beholding the plans of Providence completely unfolded. 
It involves the character of the Deity in awful obscurity 
— it deprives him of the attributes of infinite wisdom, 
benevolence, and rectitude, and leaves little more than 



NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 5>5 

boundless omnipotence acting at random, and control- 
led by no benefficent agency. In short, it obliterates 
every motive to the performance of noble and generous 
actions; damps the finest feelings and affections of 
humanity; leads to universal skepticism; cuts off the 
prospect of every thing which tends to cheer the traveler 
in his pilgrimage though life, and presents to his view 
nothing but an immense blank, overspread with the 
" blackness of darkness forever."' 

Such being the absurd consequences which flow from 
a denial of a revelation from God to man, and an entire 
trust for happiness in natural religion, we can easily 
discover the necessity of the christian religion, or 
something similar to it — that man may find a firm 
foundation on which to stand, and an asylum amid the 
disappointments and privations of his earthly existence: 
meet his great expectations, and fill his vast desires, 
concerning an immortal state of being. 

To these arguments, showing the necessity of revealed 
religion, we may only add, that in spite of all the exer- 
tions of men to confine their thoughts within the bounds 
of time, and their powerful struggles to satisfy their 
boundless desires with earthly possessions or pursuits \ 
their minds are still on the stretch, and their cry is 
" Give, give; 7 ' while they remain unsatisfied, burdened 
with remorse, disappointment, and fears. 

Christianity proposes a cure for all these evils; and 
it now remains for us to show whether there is suffi- 
cient evidence within our reach, to prove that it is of 
divine origin, and whether it can accomplished all that 
man desires, and all that it so unhesitatingly promises, 

u Vain mortal! seek not God witbin the shade , 
Impervious to thy twilight vision made. 



56 NECESSITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

But here, in this thy dawn of being, learn, 

In lowliness of wisdom, to discern 

The beam sent down to thee, the living ray, 

Prepared to guide thee on thy heavenly way. 

Then, from a purer, brighter, happier sphere, 

Shalt thou look down on depths unfathomed here, 

And view the Eternal, in his rule sublime, 

Upholding nature, and controlling time; 

In number, weight, and measure, ordering still 

His works of wisdom by his sovereign will; 

Through depths, o'er heights, which angel powers transcend; 

Conducting all to one harmonious end, 

Where every string, combined in concert sweet, 

In one hosanna to his name shall meet.'' 



PART SECOND. 

AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

LECTURE III. 

Divine authority and inspiration of the holy 
scriptures. — Their antiquity — wonderful har- . 

mony and connection preservation morality, 

and purity of style. 

" The Bible. Hast thou ever heard 
Of such a book? The author, God himself; 
The subject, God and man, salvation, life 
And death — eternal life — eternal death. 
Dread words! whose meaning has no end: no bounds. 
Most wonderousbook! bright candle of the Lord! 
Star of eternity ! The only star 
By which the bark of man could navigate 
The sea of life, and gain the port of bliss 
Secruely." 

Having in the preceding lecture, endeavored to point 
out the defects of the systems of religion embraced by 
heathens and infidels, and to show that some other reli- 
gion was necessary to give us just views of God, and 
happify mankind, we may now proceed to authenticate 
the truth and divine origin of the christian system, as 
tauhgt in the Old and New Testament scriptures. And 
as the truth of the scriptures has been questioned, we 
shall in the first place endeavor to establish their divine 
authority and inspiration. And before we enter upon 



58 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

the argument, it may be proper to show the temper of 
mind with which we ought always to be governed in 
our researches after truth. 

If a revelation of truth, necessary for the instruction 
and moral correction of mankind, is to be found in the 
scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, it is of the 
utmost importance that we, with candor and industry, 
search for the evidence by which the truth of these 
scriptures are established. Instead of wishing to dis- 
cover that the claims of the scriptures to divine author- 
ity are unfounded, every humble and sincere man, who, 
conscious of his own mental infirmities, and recollecting 
the perplexities in which the wisest men have been 
involved on religious and moral subjects, will wish to 
find at length an infallible guide, and examine the evi- 
dences of the Bible with an anxious desire to find it 
true — feeling that, should he- be disappointed, he has 
met with a painful misfortune, and not a matter for 
triumph. If this temper of mind, which is perfectly 
consistent with full and even critical examination of the 
claims of scripture, does not exist, the person destitute 
of it can be neither a sincere nor an earnest inquirer 
after truth. 

I. The antiquity of the books which contain the his- 
tory, the doctrines, and the statutes, of the Jewish and 
Christian lawgivers, is first to he considered. 

The importance of this fact in the argument, is obvi- 
ous. If the writings in question were made at, or very 
near, the time in which the miraculous acts recorded in 
them were performed, then the evidence of these events 
having occurred, is rendered the stronger — for they 
were written at the time when many were still living 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 59 

who might have contradicted the narration, if false ; 
and the improbability is also greater, that, in the very 
age and place when and where those events are said to 
have been performed, any writer would have dared to 
run the hazard of prompt, certain, and disgraceful 
detection. It is equally important in the evidence of 
prophecy; for if the predictions were recorded long 
before the events which accomplished them took place, 
then the only question which remains is, whether the 
accomplishment is satisfactory; for then the evidence 
becomes irresistible. 

With respect to the scriptures of the Old Testament, 
the language in which they are written is a strong proof 
of their antiquity.* The Hebrew ceased to be spoken 
soon after the Babylonish captivity, and the learned 
agree that there was no grammar made for the Hebrew 
till many ages after. The difficulty of a forgery, at 
any period after the time of the captivity, is therefore 
apparent. Of these books, too, there was a Greek 
translation made about two hundred and eighty-seven 
years before the christian era, and deposited in the 
Alexandrian Library. Josephus gives a catalogue of 
the sacred books among the Jews, in which he express- 
ly mentions the five books of Moses, thirteen of the 
prophets, four of hymns and moral precepts, and if, as 
many critics maintain, Ruth was added to Judges, 
and the Lamentations of Jeremiah to his prophecies, 
the number agrees with those of the Old Testament as 
it is received at the present day. 

*The mixed language of the New Testament could only 
have been written at the time in which it is said the Apostles 
wrote. 

F 



60 AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY* 

The Samaritans, who separated from the Jews many 
hundred years before the birth of Christ, have, in their 
language, a Pentateuch, in the main exactly agreeing 
with the Hebrew. And many of the pagan writers 
speak of Moses not only as a lawgiver and prince, but 
as the author of books esteemed sacred by the Jews, 

If the writings of Moses, then, are not genuine, the 
forgery must have taken place at a very early period. 
And if the writings ascribed to Moses do not in reality 
belong to him, to whom do they belong'? If they were 
forged, by whom were they forged? Or at what period 
did they first make their appearance? 

They must have been written by some author; and 
is it not reasonable to conclude that their author, the 
time when written, or object of their appearance, would 
have been mentioned by some contemporary or imme- 
diate successor? Could a code of laws entire!}^ new 
appear among us at this day, without being noticed in 
such a way that the notice would be transferred to 
posterity with as much correctness as the laws them- 
selves? And if, as some suppose, the forgery of the 
writings ascribed to Moses, was detected by ancient 
writers, and the books containing such detection are 
lost, we ask, why could not such books endure tho 
ravages of time, as well as those said to have been 
written by Moses? Surely, if the books ascribed to 
Moses are an imposition on mankind, the real friends 
of humanity, who have discovered the imposition, ought 
to have spared no pains to preserve the documents in 
which such imposition was detected. 

So far from there having been any detection of im- 
position, in the writings ascribed to Moses, there is no 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 61 

to be found even oral testimony that that was the case. 

As to the books of the prophets, which, with some 
predictions in the writings of Moses, comprise the 
prophetic branch of the evidence of the divine authority 
of the revelations they contain, it can be proved from 
Jewish tradition, the list of Josephus, the Greek trans- 
lation, and from their being quoted by the ancient 
writers, that they existed many ages before several of 
those events occurred, to which we shall refer, in a 
proper place, as eminent and unequivocal instances of 
prophetic accomplishment. 

As to Christ, whose history is recorded by the four 
evangelists, and who is professedly the founder of that 
religion which has given rise to the New Testament 
scriptures, it is only necessary to say, that two histo- 
rians, whose antiquity no one even thought of disputing, 
have mentioned him by name; and have also mentioned 
his violent death, and the persecutions his followers 
suffered. These historians are Suetonius and Tacitus. 
Thus, not only the real existence of the founder of 
Christianity, but the period in which he lived, are ex- 
actly ascertained, from writings, the genuineness of 
which has never been doubted. 

We shall hereafter have occasion to show that the 
New Testament scriptures have been quoted by ancient 
opposers of Christianity, as well as believers in Christ, 
even while some of its penmen were still living; which 
strengthens the evidence of the antiquity of this part of 
sacred volume* And we shall only add, that baptism 
and the Lord's supper have been instituted as perpetual 
memorials of facts connected with the history of Jesus 
Christ, who ordained apostles and other ministers of hi* 



62 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

gospel, to preach and administer the sacraments, and 
to govern his church, and that always, even unto the 
end of the world. The sacraments have continued by 
regular succession, to this day ; and no doubt ever 
will, while the earth shall last. Now, if these sacra- 
ments were not instituted at the time, and for the pur- 
pose mentioned in the New Testament, we ask, token, 
by ivhom, and for what, were they instituted? Those 
who deny the antiquity and authenticity of the New 
Testament scriptures are under obligation to answer 
these questions, before they accuse us of believing 
things not sufficiently authenticated. And until they 
tell us, who the first christian minister was, and show 
us a regular succession of ministers down to the present 
day, abstract from scripture history, our faith in their his- 
tory as laid down in the New Testament, and as corrob- 
orated by the history of the church, from the days of 
Christ and his apostles until, will now remain steadfast 
and immovable. 

II. The wonderful harmony and intimate connection 
subsisting between all the parts of scripture, are strong 
proof of its divine authority and original. 

Other historians differ continually from each other. 
The errors of the first writers are constantly criticised 
and corrected by succeeding adventurers, and their 
mistakes are sure to meet with the same treatment from 
those who come after them. Nay, how often does it 
happen that contemporary writers contradict each other, 
in relating a fact which happened in their own time, 
and within the sphere of their own knowledge! But 
in the scriptures there is no dissent or contradiction. 
They are not a book compiled by a single author, nor 



AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 63 

by many hands acting in confederacy in the same age; 
for in such case there would be no difficulty in composing 
a consistent scheme; nor would it be astonishing to find 
the several parts in a just and close connection. But 
most of the writers of the scriptures, lived at very dif- 
ferent times, and in distant places, through the long 
space of about sixteen hundred years; so that there 
could be no confederacy or collusion; and yet their 
relations agree with, and mutually support, each other. 
Not only human historians, but philosophers, even of 
the same school, disagree concerning their tenets; 
whereas the two Testaments, like the cherubim, (Ex. 
xxv, 20,) look steadfastly towards each other, and 
towards the mercy-seat which they encompass. The 
holy writers, men of different education, faculties, and 
occupations — prophets, evangelists, apostles, notwith- 
standing the diversities of time and place, the variety of 
matter, consisting of the mysteries of providence, as 
well as mysteries of faith — yet all concur uniformly in 
carrying on u one consistent plan of supernatural doctrines; 
all constantly propose the same invariable truth, flowing 
from the same fountain through different channels. 

Go, then, to the sacred scriptures; examine them 
closely, candidly, and critically. Can you find one 
writer contradicting the statements or opinions of his 
predecessor? one historian who disputes any fact which 
another had stated? or the least disposition in one to 
excel another? Is there, in the prophets, any discre- 
pancy in doctrines, precepts, or predictions? However 
they vary in style, or manner of illustration, the senti- 
ment and morality are the same. In their predictions, 
F* 



64 AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 

they exceed one another in particularity and clearness, 
but where is there any contradiction? 

This remark applies to the New Testament The 
leading doctrines of Christianity harmonize together. 
One writer may enlarge upon and explain what another 
has said; may add to his statement, and carry it further, 
but he never contradicts him. It is self-evident that the 
corruption of human nature; that our reconciliation to 
God by the atonement of his Son, and that the restora- 
tion of our primitive dignity, by the sanctifying influ- 
ence of the Holy Spirit, are all parts of one whole, 
united in close dependence and mutual congruity. 
The same essential agreement, and the same mutual 
dependency one upon another, obtains also among the 
chief practical precepts, as well as between the doctrines 
and precepts of Christianity. Whence, then, arises 
this harmony of the scripture? Had the writers been 
under no particular divine influence, they would have 
reasoned and speculated like others, and their writings 
would have opposed each other. But if they were in- 
spired; if they all wrote and spoke under the influence 
of the same Spirit, then is this harmony accounted for; 
and it is impossible to account for it upon any other 
principle. Hence we may conclude that all scripture 
is not only genuine and authentic, but divinely inspired. 

In opposition to this view of the harmony subsisting 
between the sacred writers, it has repeatedly been ob- 
jected that there are contradictions both to morality, as 
well as among the different writers themselves; and 
thence it has been inferred that they could not be inspir- 
ed. It is, however, worthy of remark, that the greater 
part of those, who, of late years, havo been most for- 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 65 

ward to charge the scriptures with contradictions, have 
been utterly incompetent to judge of the matter; having 
borrowed their objections from preceding opposers of 
revelation, who, instead of directing their attention to 
the original languages in which the scriptures were 
written, have formed their objections on various trans- 
lations in the modern languages of Europe. But the 
contradictions, as they are termed, are seeming only, 
and not real. They perplex only superficial readers. 
Nor is there one single instance that does not admit of a 
rational solution. 

The collation of manuscripts; a little skill in criti- 
cism, in Hebrew and Greek languages, (and even in 
the English;) their idioms and properties; and in the 
antiquities and customs of those countries where the 
scenes mentioned in the scriptures lay, and the affairs 
transacted, will clear the main difficulties; and a care- 
ful distinction of the different senses of words, as well 
as of the different subjects and times, together with the 
occasions on which the various books were written, 
will frequently remove the seeming contradictions, and 
render the harmony existing between the sacred writers 
as clear as the light of day. 

If some difficulties should still remain, let them be 
received as we do those of creation and providence, 
and they will form no objection to our reception of the 
gospel. 

III. As the wonderful harmony and connection of all 
the parts of scripture cannot rationally be ascribed to 
any other cause than being dictated by the same wisdom 
and Spirit, so also is their astonishing and (we may say) 
miraculous preservation, a strong instance -of God'i 



66 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

providential care, a constant sanction and confirmation 
of the truth contained in them, continued by him without 
intermission, in all ages of the church. Whence 
comes it, that while the histories of mighty empires are 
lost in the waste of time, the very names of their 
founders, conquerors, and legislators are consigned to 
the silence and oblivion of the grave ? Whence comes 
it that the history of an insignificant people, and the 
settlement of God's church, should, from its very be- 
ginning, which is coeval with the world itself, to this 
day remain full and complete ? # Whence comes it that 
nothing is left of innumerable volumes of philosophy 
and polite literature, in the preservation of which 
the admiration and care of all mankind seemed to 
conspire, and that the scriptures have, in spite of ail 
opposition, come down to our time, entire and genuine I 
During the captivity, the Urim and Thummim, the ark 
itself, and every glory of the Jewish worship, were lost. 
During the profanation by Antiochus, whosoever was 
found with the book of the law was put to death, and 
every copy that could be found, burned with fire. The 
same impious artifice was put in practice by several 
Roman emperors, during their persecutions of the 
Christians, especially by Dioclesian, who triumphed in 
his supposed success against them. After the most 
barbarous havoc of them, he issued an edict, command- 

* There is a chasm in the Jewish history of nearly two 
hundred and fifty years, viz: between the death of Nehe- 
miah and the time of the Maccabees; but Judah being during 
that period a province of Syria, and under the prefecture of 
it, the history of the Jews is of course involved in that of 
the country to which they were subject. This was the case 
during their captivity. 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 67 

ing them, on pain of death, to deliver up their Bibles. 
Though many of them obeyed the command, the greater 
part disregarded it; and notwithstanding these and num- 
berless calamities, the sacred volume has survived, pure 
and uncorrupted, to the present time. 

It is worthy of consideration, that the Jews, in spite 
of all their prejudices, have preserved with scrupulous 
care, even those passages which most confirm the 
christian religion — the providence of God having been 
graciously pleased to make their blindness a standing 
evidence of the truth of the scriptures, and their obsti- 
nacy an instrument to promote his doctrine and his 
kingdom. To this may be added, the present low state 
of many churches, and the total annihilation of others, 
of which nothing now remains but the scriptures trans- 
lated for their use — happy, in this respect, that their 
particular misfortune is of service to the general cause: 
inasmuch as so many copies, in so many different lan- 
guages, preserved under so many untoward circum- 
stances, and differing from each other in no essential 
point, are a wonderful proof of their authenticity, 
authority, and divinity. 

All the designs of the enemies of the Bible, whether 
ancient or modern, have been defeated. The holy 
records still exist, and will exist, while there is a sinner 
on earth to warn, or a saint to encourage. 

IV. Our next argument in favor of the divine author- 
ity of the sacred scriptures, is drawn from their mo- 
rality. 

Every one who will impartially examine the high 
standard of the morality of Christianity, as exhibited in 
the scriptures, will easily discover its extraordinary 



63 AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 

elaims. It can with safety be said, that no system of 
morality can be found on the globe, that is so pure, and 
so well calculated to regulate the hearts and lives of 
men, as that, taught, and authoritatively enjoined, in the 
New Testament, and which had been more limitedly 
taught in the Old. 

We have already seen the nature of that morality 
taught by the most enlightened and virtuous heathens, 
that natural religion was unable to ascertain, and lay 
down proper principles of moral rectitude, so that we 
are now better prepared to appreciate and admire the 
morality of Christianity. The celebrated Locke has 
eaid that, "The morality of the gospel doth so far 
excel that of all other books, that, to give a man a full 
knowledge of true morality, I would send him to no 
other book but the New Testament." And even Lord 
Bolingbroke himself has said that, " The gospel is, in 
all cases, one continued lesson of the strictest morality, 
of justice, of benevolence, and of universal charity." * 

Paine professed respect for the character of Jesus 
Christ, notwithstanding all that he said and wrote against 
him. " He was," says he, " a virtuous and an amiable 
man. The morality that he preached and practiced, 
was of the most benevolent kind." If the enemies of 
the christian religion, whose examinations into the in- 
ternal evidences of the holy scriptures are limited, and 
whose prejudices are strong against Christianity, make 
such concessions, and thus wield the sword of truth 
against themselves, what exalted views must the candid 
and arduous inquirer after truth have, of the system of 

♦Works, vol. V. p. 133, cited by Morrison, to whom 
we are indebted for much important matfer. 



69 AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 

morality contained in the several books of the Old and 
New Testaments ? What habit of known evil does it 
not proscribe ? What irregular passion does it not 
forbid ? What acknowledged virtue does it not enforce? 
W T hat kindly affection does it not inculcate ? How lofty 
is its standard of action ! 

Though self-interest is not, and cannot be, excluded 
from a system so adapted to the nature of man, yet it 
is only permitted to occupy a subordinate place in the 
morality of the gospel. There men are urged to endure 
and act "as seeing Ilim who is invisible ;" there we 
are commanded to do no act of beneficence to be seen of 
men ; there the honor of God, and the good of others, 
are the objects at which they are called habitually to 
aim ; there the surface morality of the world is treated 
with scorn, and a right state of the thoughts and affec- 
tions is imperatively demanded ; there meekness, and 
humility, and condescension, are represented as the true 
path to greatness ; there haughtiness and pride are 
associated with all that is mean and worthless ; there an 
assuming and lofty air is forbidden, even in the ordinary 
intercourse of social life; there covetousness is branded 
as idolatry, hatrecj as murder, and hidden lust as adul- 
tery ; there every species of resentment is absolutely 
prohibited ; there the refusal to forgive an injury is 
described as an effectual barrier in the way of the exer- 
cise of the divine mercy; there all detraction, all back- 
biting, all evil speaking, all envy, all malice, all 
circumvention, are shown to be inconsistent with the 
hope of eternal life, and the state of acceptance through 
a Redeemer. 

There is, indeed, one grand peculiarity belonging to 



70 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

the morality of Christianity, which distinguishes it from 
that of every other system, viz : the sublime and all- 
subduing character of its motives. Who can glaneo 
for a moment at the morality of the Bible, without 
coming into contact with those mighty and heart-stirring 
considerations, which are fitted to rouse all the sensi- 
bilities of human nature, and to subdue into willing and 
grateful obedience the most stubborn and rebellious of 
our race ? 

Let the following examples of the class of motives 
referred to suffice : " Let all bitterness, and wrath, and 
anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from 
you, with all malice ; and be ye kind one to another, 
even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you/' 
"God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten 
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, 
but have everlasting life. Beloved, if God so loved us, 
we ought to love one another." " Let nothing be done 
through strife, or vain glory; but in lowliness of mind, 
let each esteem others better than themselves-" "Fc 
are bought with a price, therefore, glorify God in your 
body and in your spirit, which are his." 

How mean and poverty-stricken are the motives of 
all other systems, when compared with the religion of 
Jesus Christ ! A book which founds its code of morals 
upon such considerations, can never be the production 
of man. In the wide range of his efforts, there is 
nothing analogous. The fair inference, therefore, is, 
that a greater than man speaks to us in the living oracles. 
The enemies of revelation themselves being judges, 
what can they predicate of its probable tendency on 
men, but unmixed good ? Must they not, however re- 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 71 

luctanlly, concede, that the principles of Deism are 
feeble and powerless, as a system of moral renovation, 
compared with the high and holy dictates of the gospel? 

Now the argument for the divine origin of Christian- 
ity, arising from its transcendent morality, may be 
viewed in various lights. In the first place, how comes 
it to pass, that of all the religions which have sought to 
obtain the suffrages of mankind, that of Jesus of Naz- 
areth is incomparably the most pure and benevolent in 
its tendency ? How comes it to pass, moreover, that 
among a rude people, such as were the Jews, there 
should have arisen a system of faith and worship, which, 
for grandeur of conception, and sanctity of character, 
outstrips all the other records of time ? Is there not 
in this very circumstance a presumption of the highest 
order in favor of the divine origin of Christianity ? 

But supposing, in the second place, that the apostles 
of our Lord were chargeable with the crime of dex- 
terously imposing a false religion upon mankind, how 
happens it that they set themselves with such zeal and 
ardor to oppose the prejudices and preconceived notions 
of their countrymen ? How happens it that they took 
the very method the least likely to conciliate their good 
opinion and to secure their hearty approval ? How 
happens it that in their system of morality they not only 
struck a death blow at the pride and hypocrisy of their 
own nation, but insisted on a purity of heart and life, 
which they knew must expose them to the hatred and 
derision of all mankind ? Upon a: mere human calcu- 
lation, they adopted a method which could only issue in 
a perfect failure. Had they flattered the depravity of 
man ; had they introduced a scheme which winked at 
G 



72 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

any of his corruptions ; had they imitated the subse- 
quent conduct of the false Prophet ; had they promised 
to their disciples a life of ease and sensual indulgence ; 
had they exhibited in their own history an exemption 
from poverty, reproach, persecution, and death ; in a 
word, had there been any one thing in the scheme of 
doctrine they taught, to secure the esteem, and to call 
forth the approbation of a corrupt and vitiated state of 
society, we might then have been left to suspect that 
they had artfully constructed a system to suit the de- 
praved taste of mankind ; and to raise themselves to 
notoriety by pandering to the vices of human nature. 
But when the very reverse of this is the case ; when 
the morality of the gospel is so lofty and unbending as 
to surrender none of its claims to meet the prejudices 
either of Jews or Gentiles ; when it is so pre-eminent 
as to stand forth in solitary grandeur, amid the religions 
of all ages and all nations; when it is found to embody 
every quality which is fitted to diffuse peace, and justice, 
and benevolence, among mankind ; when it is impos- 
sible to detect in it a single precept which would not 
elevate the character of man, and augment all his per- 
sonal and relative enjoyments, what ought any thoughtful 
or consistent mind to conclude respecting it, but that it 
is the offspring of the Fountain of all Purity, and that 
it has been vouchsafed by Him in mercy, to heal the 
distempers and redress the miseries of our fallen race I 

As the opinion of infidel champions is held most sacred 
by their disciples, for* their sakes, we will close our 
remarks on this item in the words of one of them, who, 
unhappily for himself, did not allow the convictions of 
his judgment to rule his decisions, or to form his char- 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 73 

acter. "The gospel, that divine book, the only one 
necessary to a Christian, and the most useful of all to 
the man who may not be one; only requires reflection 
upon it, to impress the mind with love for its Author, 
and resolution to fulfil his precepts. Virtue never spoke 
in gentler terms ; the profoundest wisdom was never 
uttered with greater energy, or more simplicity. It is 
impossible to rise from reading it without a feeling of 
moral improvement. Look at the books of the philoso- 
phers, with all their pomp; how little they are, compared 
with this ! Shall we say that the history of the gospel 
is a pure fiction ? This is not' the style of a fiction ; 
and the history of Socrates, which nobody doubts, rests 
upon less evidence than that of Jesus Christ. After 
all, this is but shifting the difficulty — not answering it 
The supposition that several persons had united to fab- 
ricate this book, is more inconceivable than that one 
person should have supplied the subject of it. The 
spirit which it breathes, the morality which it inculcates, 
could never have been the invention of Jewish authors; 
and the gospel possesses characters of truth so striking, 
so perfectly inimitable, that the inventor would be a 
more astonishing object than the hero."* 

V. We come, fifthly, to the argument drawn from 
the unrivalled sublimity of the diction of the sacred 
writings. 

The human mind can conceive nothing more elevated, 
more grand, more glowing, more beautiful, and more 
elegant, than what we meet with in the sacred writings 



• J. J. Rousseau, vol. xxxvi. of his works, p. 36, Paris 
od., 1778—93, cited by Morrison. 



74 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

of the Hebrew bards. The most ineffable sublimity of 
the subjects they treat upon, is fully equalled by the 
energy of the language, and the dignity of style. Some 
of these writings, too, (as already shown,) exceed in 
antiquity the fabulous ages of Greece, as much as in 
sublimity they are superior to the most finished produc- 
tions of that celebrated people. Moses stands unri- 
valled by the best of them, both as a poet, orator, and 
historian. In the writings of Moses, whatever is meant 
to be a practical law to the nation, is expressed with the 
greatest accuracy and precision. That part of the 
commencement of the narrative which regards the in- 
ternal man is also universally intelligible, insomuch that 
it can be easily comprehended by the most ignorant, by 
a savage, or by a child almost as soon as he has the 
power of speech. All that regards universal history, 
the ramifications of our race, and the early fate of men 
(so far as these have any connection with our religious 
belief) are most clear and conspicuous. Whatever, on 
the other side, can serve only as an amusement of our 
curiosity, is wrapped by Moses in obscurity and mys- 
tery. What he tells us, with hieroglyphical brevity, 
concerning the first fathers of the primitive world, has 
been spun out by the Persians, the Indians, and Chinese, 
into whole volumes of heathen mythology, and been 
invested with a crowd of half-poetical, half-metaphysical 
traditions. The writings of David, Solomon, and Isaiah 
are set forth with a splendor and sublimity, which, 
considered merely as poetry, excite our wonder, and 
disdain all comparison with any other compositions — 
they form a fountain of fiery and godlike inspiration, 
of which the greatest of modern poets have never been 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 75 

weary of drinking, which has suggested to them their 
noblest images and most magnificent flights. Isaiah 
excels all the world in almost every kind of composition. 
Solomon stands unrivalled by the best in ancient Greece, 
as a moralist, naturalist, and pastoral writer; Jeremiah, 
Ezekiel, Nahum, Joel, and some of the other prophets, 
as orators, or poets, or both. Homer and Virgil must 
yield the palm to Job, for true sublime. The four 
evangelists are eminent as orators and historians. Peter 
and James, Luke and John, are authors of no ordinary 
rank ; and Paul is the most sublime of writers and 
eloquent of orators, as was acknowledged byLonginus. 
M I will confess," says Rousseau; " that the majesty of 
the scriptures strikes me with admiration, as the purity 
of the gospel hath its influence upon my heart. Peruse 
the works of our philosophers, with all their pomp of 
diction : how mean, how contemptible, are they, com- 
pared with the scriptures !" 

This forced opinion of Rousseau is confirmed by 
that of men vastly his superiors in learning and virtue. 
Sir William Jones has penned the following striking, 
but just eulogium, on the style and manner of the sac- 
red writers: " The collection of tracts, which we call, 
from their excellence, the scriptures, contain, independ- 
ently of a divine origin, more true sublimity, more 
exquisite beauty, purer morality, more important his- 
tory, and finer strains of poetry and eloquence, than 
could be collected within the same compass from all 
other books that were ever composed in any age or in 
any idiom." Others, of equal learning and piety, might 
be brought forward to bear testimony, whose opinions 
G* 



76 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

on this subject are the same. But let all examine and 
judge for themselves. Look at the pathetic story of 
Joseph and his brethren-; Moses' account of the crea- 
tion; his song at the Red Sea, and on the borders of the 
promised land; the sublime narrative of the giving of 
the law at Mount Sinai; the celebrated proohecy 
of Balaam; the prayer of Solomon at the dedica- 
tion of the temple; the visions of the Jewish pro- 
phets, particularly those of^ Isaiah; the odes of 
Jesse's son; the matchless sermon on the mount; the 
public appeals of the apostles before heathen tribunals: 
and the mystic symbols of the Apocalypse, and you 
cannot but be struck and awed w r ith the unrivalled dic- 
tion, the surpassing imagery, and the lofty conceptions 
of the sacred penmen. Let all the other books of anti- 
quity be produced; let the classic page disclose its 
richest stores; let the entire mass of apocryphal writings 
undergo the strictest scrutiny; let Egypt, and Greece, 
and Arabia, bring forth the proudest monuments of 
their genius; let tho most dazzling passages of the Koran 
(that were not derived from the scriptures) be separated 
from the mass of its absurdities; let all ages and all 
nations vie with the Jewish and Christian scriptures, 
and it will be seen, by a judge of the most inferior 
grade, that no argument can be held for a single mo- 
ment as to the comparative grandeur of the book called 
the Bible. That it throws the whole round of other 
productions into the shade, and that it is written alto- 
gether in a style and manner which admits of no suc- 
cessful rival or counterfeit. 

The writers of the Old and New Testaments do not 
claim the honor of having written the different books 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. i i 

ascribed to them, only under the influence of inspiratioyi. 
And if they were not inspired, whence the sublimity of 
their language? Whence their striking imagery? Why 
do we not discover the same sublimity in the writings 
of their contemporaries or successors, belonging to the 
the same nation, possessing greater advantages? Why 
do we see the Bible the fittest book in the world to be 
the standard of ancient literature, of morality, of doc- 
trines, of style, and a standing monument of God's 
providential care? We can defy all the sons of infidel- 
ity, to show us any thing like it, or second to it. It is 
indeed a richly fraught magazine of all true excellence 
in matter and composition and style. The conclusion 
is irresistible, the Bible is true; the Bible is inspired; 
the Bible is the icord of God. Hence, Christianity, 
whose necessity, authority, doctrines, precepts, utility, 
and divine origin are recorded in the scriptures, must 
be that religion ordained of God to restore man to hap- 
piness and heaven. 



LECTURE IV. 

Authenticity of Christianity shown from the 

moral character of moses the prophets 

Christ and his apostles — and the uncorrupted 
transmission of the writings containing their 

HISTORY. 

u There stand the messengers of truth! There stand 

The legates of the skies! Their theme divine; 

Their office sacred; their credentials clear. 

By them the violated law speaks out 

Its thunders; and by them, m strains as sweet 

As angels use, the gospel whispers peace. 

They stablish the strong, restore the weak; 

Reclaim the wanderers; bind the broken hearts. '' 

In the following lecture, we shall notice the evidence of 
Christianity derived from the moral character of its 
founder, and of the sacred penmen; also the uncorrupU 
cd transmission of the sacred writings. 

Every candid mind must acknowledge, that there is 
much depending on the moral character of those who 
professed to have received a revelation from God, and 
left on record the same for the consideration and bene- 
fit of mankind. For it is reasonable to suppose that an 
infinitely wise and good Being would cause the streams 
of life to flow down to man, through as pure channels 
as the nature of the case would require. And we are 
informed that even angels, oh some occasions were 
sent to earth on errands of salvation. But God's most 
ordinary means of speaking to man has been through 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 79 

his fellow men, whose moral characters were in ac- 
cordance with the morality of that religion they preach- 
ed to others, and who were qualified by the Almighty 
to make known his will to the nations of the earth. 

We shall now endeavor to show that the moral char- 
acter of the prophets; of Jesus Christ and his apostles, 
was such as we would naturally suppose it should be, 
in order to be credited as ambassadors from God to 
man; and that they endeavored most scrupulously to 
conform to those doctrines and precepts which they so 
strictly imposed upon others by the authority of Him 
by whom they professed to be inspired. 

I. Moses, the Jewish laivgiver, in all his actions, 
presents an illustrious moral character. 

Hg faithfully discharged the trust reposed in him, 
and totally forgetting himself, and his own secular in- 
terest, with that also of his family, he labored inces- 
santly to promote God's honor and the people's welfare, 
which, on many occasions, he showed were dearer to 
him than his own life. 

Moses was in every respect a great man; for every 
virtue that constitutes genuine nobility, was concentra- 
ted in his mind, and displayed in his conduct. He ever 
conducted himself as a man conscious of his own integ- 
rity, and of the guidance and protection of Heaven. 
He therefore betrays no confusion in his views, nor 
indecision in his measurs; he was ever without anxi- 
ety, because he was conscious of the rectitude of his 
motives, and that the cause which he had espoused was 
the cause of God; and that His power and faithfulness 
were pledged for his support. His courage and forti- 
tude were unshaken and unconquerable, because his 



SO AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

reliance was unremittingly fixed on the unchangeable- 
ness of Jehovah. 

He left Egypt, having an eye to the recompense of 
reward in another world; and never lost sight of this 
grand object. He was therefore neither discouraged 
by difficulties, nor elated by prosperity. His refusing 
to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, and thereby 
renouncing the claim he had on the treasures and glory 
of Egypt, proves that he was not influenced by secular 
views in the government of the miserable multitudes 
which he led out of that country. 

His renunciation of the court of Pharaoh, and its 
advantages, was the amplest proof that he neither sought 
nor expected honor or emolument in the wilderness, 
among a people who had scarcely any thing but what 
they received immediately from the hand of God. 
Witness his disinterestedness in reference to his family, 
as well as himself. His own tribe, that of Levi, he 
left without any earthly possessions; and though to 
minister to God was the most honorable employment, 
yet the Levitcs could never arise to any political con- 
sequence in Israel. Even his own sons became blended 
in the common mass of th© Levites, and possessed no 
kind of distinction among their brethren. 

Of the spoils taken in war, we never read of tho 
portion of Moses; he had none; he wanted none. His 
treasure was in heaven; and where his treasure was, 
there also was his heart. When he died, he left no 
other property than his tent behind him. 

By the disinterestedness of Moses, two points are 
fully proved. 1st. That he was satisfied, fully so, that 
his mission was divine, and that in it he served the 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 81 

living God; and 2dly, That he believed in the immor- 
tality of the soul, and the doctrine of future rewards 
and punishments — and therefore he labored so to pass 
through things temporal, that he might not lose tha 
things that are eternal. 

The manner in which he bore the sentence of hi* 
exclusion from the promised inheritance, is an addi- 
tional proof of his persuasion of the divinity of his 
mission, and of the reality of the invisible world. No 
testiness; no murrnering; no expatiating on former 
services; no passionate entreaties to have the sentence 
reversed, appear in the spirit or conduct of this truly 
great man. Though he offended Jehovah at the waters 
of Meribah, and consequently was publicly reprehended 
as the leader of Israel, and excluded from the promised 
hind, yet he was permitted to view it from the Mount, 
where he had familiar conversation with his Maker, 
yielded up the ghost, and suddenly passed from the 
verge of the earthly, into the heavenly Canaan. His 
body was buried by God himself; which is an honor 
no other human being ever received. 

Let it be remembered that the acts of Moses, as a 
legislator, should not be ascribed to him as a private 
character. In his legislative character, he had author- 
ity to do that which would have incurred guilt, if done 
as a private man. Hence, cruelty, or barbarity, could 
not be attributed to him, any more than they could bo 
attributed to legislators of the United States, while they 
adopt laws for the defence of our country, and the pun- 
ishment of individuals or nations that violate our rights. 
Moses' Hebrew extraction, the comeliness of his person, 
\\\% Egyptian education, his natural firmness and con- 



82 AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 

stancy of character, all concurred with the influences 
of the Divine Spirit, to make him in every way qualified 
for the great work which God had given him to do; and 
who performed it according to the Divine will. His 
untarnished moral character must give weight to his 
testimony, and strengthen the evidence in favor, of 
revealed religion. 

We have been thus lengthy on the character of Moses, 
in consequence of the intimate connection between the 
religion of the Jews and that founded by Jesus Christ ; 
and in consequence of his being quoted by Christ and 
his apostles as having been divinely inspired. 

II. We shall next notice the moral character of the 
prophets ichose writings are found in the Old Testament. 

The character of the holy prophets is perfectly 
agreeable to the exalted notions we might reasonably 
form of ministers inspired of Heaven. Their call was 
extraordinary ; their piety deep, and unshaken by ca- 
lamities ; their persecutions were various, and often 
extended to martyrdom ; and their lives were wholly 
devoted to the exercise of their divine mission. We 
are aware that an attack has been made upon the char- 
acters of David and Solomon, on account of their di- 
gressions from the precepts of that religion they 
inculcated. 

That David, in some cases, grievously departed from 
God, who would attempt to deny ? His adultery with 
Bathsheba, and the consequent murder of the brave 
Uriah, were crimes of a deep dye; and David, in this 
instance, may be considered an awful example of apos- 
tacy from religion. But these evils, with David, never 
existed in habit. They made no part of his general 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. S3 

character ; and his repentance on account of that which 
was his greatest blot, was the deepest and most exem- 
plary we have on record. If a man have fallen into 
sin, and made the speediest return to God by confession 
and repentance, that transgression is no part of his 
character. He does not repeat it ; he loathes and abhors 
it. It requires malice against God's book, to say that 
this crime was a part of David's character. There are 
three tilings connected with this part of David's life, 
•calculated to establish the truth of his history and the 
general purity of his moral character. The first is, 
his confession and repentance. When Nathan, the 
prophet of C : I to David, "Thou art the man,"' 

he appears to have been transfixed, and brought into 
the dust before the m of truth, and cries out, 

-" I have sinned against the Lord/ ? He fasted, and wept, 
and prayed. The second is his punishment. Nathan 
saith unto him, M M - hast thou despised the 

commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight ? Thou 
hast killed Uriah, the Ilittite, with the sword, and hast 
taken his wife to be thy wife — therefore the sword shall 
not depart from thine house. Behold, I will raise up 
evil against thee out of thine own house/ 7 and Nathan 
adds, " The Lord also hath put away thy sin ; thou 
It not die. Howbeit, because thou hast given great 
occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the 
child also that is born unto thee shall surely die !" 

Now behold his punishment. He loses four sons by 
untimely deaths, viz : this son of Bathsheba, on whom 
David had set his heart, was slain by the Lord; Amnon 
murdered by his brother Absalom ; Absalom slain in 
the oak, by Joab ; and Adonijah slain by the order of 
H 



84 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

his brother Solomon. The sword and calamity did not 
depart from his house, from the murder of the wretched 
Amnon by his brother, to the slaughter of the sons of 
Zedekiah, before their father's eyes, by the king of 
Babylon. His daughter was dishonored by her own 
brother; and his wives contaminated, publicly, by his 
own son ! 

How dreadfully, then, was David punished for his 
sin I Who w T ould repeat the transgression, to share in 
its penalty ? The third circumstance referred to, is, 
the whole transaction being recorded by the sacred 
penman. Surely, men who wished to impose a false 
religion upon mankind, would not record the crimes of 
their own party, especially such crimes as are here 
charged upon David ! A representation o£ purity, in ev- 
ery respect, would much better serve the purpose of such 
men. Knowing that if their crimes were brought to 
light, and even incorporated into the history of their 
religion, they could not so easily persuade men to join 
in with them. The inspired penmen do not endeavor to 
conceal their own faults, any more than the faults of 
others ; and when they speak of their good qualities, 
they acknowledge God to be the author of them. Da- 
vid's confession and repentance, prove his honesty, and 
consciousness of having sinned. His punishment proves 
the justice of God, and the transaction being left on 
record proves the honesty and inspiration of the re- 
corder. 

David's pretended cruelty to the Ammonites, has been 
adduced as a proof of a hard and wicked heart ; but a 
few words will show that the charge is unfounded. It 
is said, in 2 Samuel, 12: 31— " He brought forth the 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 85 

people, and put them under saws, and under harrows of 
iron, and made them pass through the brick-kiln/ 7 The 
simple meaning of this passage is, he brought the 
people into subjection, and employed them in saicing y 
making iron harrows, or mining, for the word means 
both ; and in hewing of wood, and making of brick. 
Some who were better skilled in cavilling than in bibli- 
cal criticism, have pretended that David was guilty of 
sawing asunder, hacking, chopping, and hewing human 
beings ! His moral character, in the general, is worthy 
of imitation, by the wisest and best of mankind. We 
contend, that in the case of David, a life so long, so 
holy, so useful, and (except in the instances referred 
to) so truly exemplary, entitles him to the character of 
a holy man of God ; and, allowing but a little for the 
dispensation under which he lived, one of the holiest, ii 
not the holiest potentates, that ever wore a crown, or 
wielded a sceptre. On the whole, we can say with Dr. 
Delo - a true believer; a zealous adorer 

of God ; a teacher of His law and worship, and an 
inspire r of His pr mple; a perpetual 

and inexhaustible fountain of true piety; a consummate 
and unequalled hero ; a skilful and fortunate captain ; 
ady patriot; a wise ruler; a faithful, generous, and 
magnanimous friend ; and what is yet rarer, a no less 
generous and magnanimous enemy. A true penitent, 
a divine musician, a sublime poet, and an inspired 
prophet, By birth a peasant, and by merit a prince. 
In youth a hero, in manhood a monarch, and in age a 
sain 

As to Solomon, there can be no doubt but that in his 
old age he relapsed into idolatry, and in many things 



86 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

disobeyed the God of his fathers; and the awful obscu- 
rity in which his last days were enveloped, appears to 
confirm the truth of his apostacy. But there is equal 
testimony that Solomon, in his youth, sustained a good 
moral character, and was eminently wise, and beloved 
of his God. His very name, which signified the peace- 
able, at once indicated the state of the country ; for he 
had rest on every side during his reign ; and also the 
character of his own mild, pacific mind. To the dying 
charge of his pious father, relative to the building of a 
temple for the Lord, he paid the most punctual attention. 
His zeal in the cause of true religion, and high respect 
for the honor of God, are strong indications of a pious 
soul. Had we no other proof of this, than his prayer 
for wisdom, and his prayer at the dedication of the 
temple, it would put the matter forever beyond dispute, 
independently of the direct testimony of God himself 
on the subject. He loved the worship and ordinances 
of God ; and was a pattern to his subjects in the strictest 
attention to religious duties, He even exceeded the re- 
quisitions of the law, in the multitude of his sacrifices ; 
and was a careful observer of those annual festivals, so 
necessary to preserve the memory of the principal facts 
of the Israelitish history, and those miraculous inter- 
ventions of God in the behalf of that people. The 
wisdom of the East has been ever celebrated ; and, if 
we may believe their own best writers, much of what 
tbey possess has been derived from Solomon ! Enco- 
miums of his wisdom are every where to be met with in 
the Asiatic writers ; and his name is every where 
famous in the East. Most of the oriental historians, 
poets, and philosophers, mention "Solomon the son of 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 87 

David."-' They relate that he ascended the throne of 
Israel at the death of his father, when he was only 
twelve years of age; and that God subjected to his gov- 
ernment, not only men, but good and evil spirits, the 
fowls of the air, and the winds of heaven. They agree 
with the sacred writers, in stating that he employed 
en years in building the temple at Jerusalem. 

The wicked and abominable idolatry of Solomon in 
his old age, does not prove but that his moral character 
was good, when young, or that he was uninspired when 
he wrote. His writings, and the writings of other 
prophets or evangelists concerning him, condemn his 
own immoral and wicked conduct ; and we may again 
remark, that if they had been impostors, their wicked- 
ness would not be recorded by themselves. But they 
had no design or wish to deceive mankind ; they, there- 
fore, honestly and openly, included in their history their 
own digressions, which have been transmitted down to 
us for warnings and examples. 

We may only add, in relation to the other prophets, 
whose writings are now in our hands, that they adhered 
strictly to the rules of moral virtue, and the principles 
of that religion they inculcated ; for which they were 
violently persecuted by the powerful and the great, but 
could not be moved from their purpose. They suffered 
losses, and endured privations; but still with assiduity 
and perseverance they attended to the great business 
committed to their charge, and zealously promoted the 
honor of God, and the welfare of their species. They 
sought not the applause or honors of the world. They 
H* 



8$ AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY 

paid due regard to the laws of their country, and taught 
others to do the same, when matters of conscience were 
not involved, and their inalisnable rights violated. Kings, 
emperors, and subjects, alike had their instructions and 
reproofs, while the strictest morality was authoritatively 
enjoined upon them, as well for their own sakes, as for 
the honor of God, and the good of mankind in general. 
And, lest their instructions should not have the desired 
effect, they let their own pious examples, as a light, 
shine before men, as worthy of imitation, and as an 
illustration of that religion they professed and taught. 

Something more than what we discover in the moral 
character of the prophets is necessary to qualify them 
to impose a false religion upon men; and if any 
marks of dishonesty had belonged to their character, 
they would have long since been discovered; whereas 
this is not the case, and no motives whatever can rea- 
sonably be attributed to them, but those by which they 
professed to be governed. They asked for no earthly 
emoluments; they sought none. They might have had 
them if they chose; but they, like Moses, " endured as 
seeing Him who is invisible, and chose rather to suffer 
affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the 
pleasures of sin for a season."' These men, therefore, 
must have been under the influence of a supernatural 
agency when they wrote the scriptures of the Old 
Testament, for men of good moral characters would 
not profess. to be dictated by the Spirit of God, when 
this was not the case. 

III. But let us examine thirdly, the moral character 
of Jesus Christ of whom the Prophets lore witness. 

Let that character be fairly investigated, and we are 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 89 

greatly mistaken if it will not produce a conviction that 
Christianity must be from heaven, and the scriptures 
that contain his history are the inspired word of God. 
That such a person lived, and suffered, and died in the 
land of Judea, is admitted equally by heathen and Jew- 
ish writers, and requires no formal proof, therefore, to 
establish the fact. 

Josephus, Suetonius, Tacitus, and Pliny the younger, 
place beyond all reasonable doubt the fact of his exist- 
ence, and the period of his life, ministry and death. 
But what object of astonishment and wonder do we 
behold in "the man Christ Jesus!" 

Trace him from the manger at Bethlehem to the 
cross on Calvary, and what a combination do you wit- 
ness of all that is innocent, and pure, and benevolent! 
Here is wisdom the most profound, in the absence of all 
the ordinary means of acquiring it. Here is a Being 
. in whom all the social and relative affections are not 
only seen to advantage, but in absolute perfection. 
Here are humility and dignity perfectly combined — the 
loftiness of moral excellence, without a single approxi- 
mation to the feeling of contempt for others. Here is a 
sanctity of character which never yielded to a single 
temptation, and never deviated from the path of recti- 
tude in a single instance; combined at the same time 
with a condescension and mercy which never spurned 
the miserable, and never frowned on the trembling 
penitent, conscious of his guilt and pleading for forgive- 
ness. Here is one who never resented an injury, and 
never forgot a kindness; who never thought of an 
enemy, but to bless him; or of a faithless friend, but to 
pity and forgive him. Here is one whose days were 



90 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

devoted to the exercise of active benevolence, and whose 
nights were spent in communion with Heaven; who 
sought no reward of all his generosity; who wept tears 
of anguish over the approaching fate of those who 
persecuted him at every step of his existence with una- 
bated cruelty; and who spent his latest breath in pray- 
ing for his guilty and relentless murderers. Whence 
such a character as this? Was it from earth or heaven? 
If from earth, then where can we look for its great 
archetype? Not, surely, in the gentile world; for it 
infinitely surpassed even the ideal models which were 
laid down by the purest and most enlightened of its 
philosophers. Not in the Jewish world. For even the 
most cherished patriarchs were chargeable with imper- 
fections, at some period of their lives. And in the 
days of Jesus of Nazareth, the great body of the nation 
were peculiarly degraded, both as it respected the 
acquirements of the understanding, and the habits of 
life and conduct. Whence, then, this mysterious and 
wonderful personage; this Being so unlike all the 
generations of men who had preceded him, or who had 
followed after him; yet clothed in a human form, pos- 
sessed of human sympathies, and subject to human 
woes? No wonder that Rousseau, in his exquisite and 
well-known contrast between Socrates and Christ, 
should feel himself constrained to remark, that M the 
inventor of such a character would be a more astonish- 
ing object than the hero." " Is it possible," said he, 
speaking of the Bible and of the character of Christ, 
" Is it possible that a book, at once so simple and su- 
blime, should be merely the work of man? Is it possible 
that the sacred personage, whose history it contains, 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 91 

should himself be a mere man? Do we find • that he 
assumed the tone of an enthusiast or ambitious sectary? 
What sweetness! what purity! what an affecting grace- 
fulness in his delivery! What sublimity in his maxims! 
What profound wisdom in his discourses! W'hat pre- 
sence of mind! What sublimity, what truth in his 
replies! How great the command over his passions! 
Where is the man; where is the philosopher, who 
could so live and so die, without weakness and without 
ostentation? When Plato described his imaginary good 
man, loaded with all the shame of guilt, yet meriting 
the highest rewards of virtue, he described exactly the 
character of Jesus Christ. The resemblance was so 
striking that all the fathers perceived it." Yet this was 
the strange and unhappy man, who, through the wick- 
edness and pride of his heart, declared, "I cannot 
believe the gospel." 

The confession of Mr. Chubb, the deistical writer, i3 
correspondent with that of Rousseau. " In Christ," 
(says he,) " we have an example of a quiet and peace- 
ful spirit; of becoming honesty and sobriety; just, 
modest, upright, and sincere, and a most gracious tem- 
per and behavior. His life was a beautiful picture in 
its native purity and simplicity; and showed at once 
what excellent creatures men would be under the influ- 
ence of the gospel he preached to them.*-' 

Thus we see, that an impartial examination into the 
moral character of the great Founder of the christian 
religion, constrains his most inveterate enemies to ac- 
knowledge his superiority over all others. 

The learned Tertullian, in his apology for Christian- 
ity, about the year 200, after speaking of Christ's 



fi2 AUTHENTIC I^y OF CHRISTIANITY. 

crucifixion and resurrection, says, that " Tiberius, in 
whose time the christian name (or religion) had its 
rise, having received from Palestine, in Syria, an ac- 
count of such things as manifested the truth of Christ's 
divinity, proposed to the Senate, that he should be 
enrolled among the Roman gods, and gave his own 
prerogative vote in favor of the motion. n The histo- 
rian, iElius Lampridius, relates that the Emperor Alex- 
ander Severus, (who reigned from A. D. 222 to 235,) 
had two private chapels, one more more honorable than 
the other; and that in the former were deified emperors, 
and also some eminently good men, and among them 
Apollonius, and, as a writer of his time says, Christ, 
Abraham, and Orpheus, (whom he considered deities,) 
and the images of his ancestors." The same historian 
adds, that the Emperor "wished to erect a temple to 
Christ, and to receive him among the gods." 

This testimony proves that Christ lived, and was put 
to death in the reign of Tiberius; and that even heathens 
were struck with the purity of his character, and paid 
the highest respect to it, when they had a proper oppor- 
tunity for investigating it. So Christians, heathens, 
and infidels concur in placing the moral character of 
our Saviour at the highest point of perfection. We do, 
therefore, claim from infidels, if they will still continue 
to reject the truth, that they furnish us, upon their own 
principles, with some reasonable account of the source 
whence sprung the ineffable purity and benevolence of 
the Son of God. And if the history of his character be 
a mere fiction, how it happens that the prophets and 
apostles outstripped all the philosophers of Greece and 
Rome, in their descriptions of a good moral character? 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 93 

Till they have accounted for these, they are chargea- 
ble with the utmost levity and irrationality in persisting 
in their unbelief. 

The conduct of Christ, towards his disciples and 
others, is perfectly inexplicable on the supposition of 
his being an impostor or enthusiast? 

Not the least step did he take to promote any scheme 
of earthly aggrandisement. Instead of exhorting his 
countrymen to rise and throw off the Roman dominion, 
when the captious political question was put to him, "Is 
it lawful to give tribute to Ccesar, or not ? he rather 
taught them the two-fold duty of discharging their seve- 
ral obligations to God and their sovereign. Instead of 
inculcating those fiery and vehement passions, which 
might best subserve the purposes of an impostor, aiming 
at an earthly kingdom, he rather enforced dispositions, 
which of all others would be the most prejudicial to such 
a scheme — meekness, humility, foregiveness, patience, 
submission, and non-resistance to injuries. Instead of 
eagerly availing himself of the golden opportunity, 
which once occurred, of acquiring the sovereignty of 
Israel, he unaccountably (on the supposition of his 
being an impostor) threw it away in mere wantonness, 
and lost it forever. It is utterly preposterous to believe 
that such would or could have been the conduct of an 
impostor. He, instead of adopting a system of dexter- 
ous conciliation towards the higher classes among the 
Jews, by flattering their prejudices, and by an adroit 
commendation, both of their doctrine and their practice, 
took such an extraordinary course, that in a very short 
time he effectually alienated all the ruling powers, and 
made them his bitterest enemies. Their favorble opin- 



94 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

ions he directly controverted ; their hypocrisy he uncer- 
emoniously exposed; their corrupt practices he exhibited 
to the people in all their undisguised deformity ; and 
themselves he stigmatized with a severity at once austere 
and contemptuous. 

Such unwelcome truths did not fail to enrage the 
corrupt rulers of Israel at the bold reformer. And it 
need not be wondered at, if we grant that he was the 
true Messiah, but it is astonishing indeed, that an im- 
postor should deliberately act a part, which had an 
obvious tendency to irritate and provoke all the leading 
men of the nation, with his eyes wide open to the con- 
sequences. Such a supposition docs indeed beggar the 
utmost profusencss of credulity. 

His conduct, in regard to his disciples, was equally 
unaccountable on the supposition of his being an im- 
postor. An impostor, if placed in a similar situation, 
would have allured his followers by bountiful promises 
of worldly prosperity, as did Mohammed and others. 
But this was not the case with the Lord Jesus. He 
allured his countrymen to enlist under his banners, by 
promising them every sort of persecution, universal 
hatred, flight, banishment, excommunication, contempt, 
affliction, death. All these things were perfectly well 
known to his disciples ; and they had already before 
their eyes fulfilments of the Saviours declarations. 
There were no grounds for deception, no marks of dis- 
honesty, in the life and conduct of the Author of 
Christianity. "Never man spake like this man,'' was 
the honest confession of the officers who had been sent 
to apprehend him. " Truly this was the Son of God,' 7 
was the acknowledgement of the centurion and his 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 95 

companions, even while he was hanging upon the cross. 
To believe him an impostor, or an enthusiast, shows an 
incomparably higher degree of credulity, than to believe 
him a prophet really sent of God! 

IV. The character of the founder of Christianity 
having been thus fully vindicated, it might seem almost 
superfluous to discuss the character of his apostles, who 
record his history; for if Christ himself cannot be pro- 
nounced either an impostor or an enthusiast, except in 
despite of all evidence, both moral and historical, it 
must clearly follow, that neither can such imputation be 
reasonably cast upon those who acted in obedience to 
his commands, and who propagated the identical system 
which he himself originally promulged. 

Yet, since the speculations of infidelity respecting 
these earliest preachers of the gospel, are attended with 
numerous difficulties, it may not be altogether useless 
to consider their moral character also. Unprincipled 
persons may have availed themselves of the general 
reception of the gospel, and the general veneration en*- 
tertained for its founder, and may hence have contrived 
to erect upon these foundations a rich, powerful and 
thriving empire ; but, are we therefore logically bound 
to conclude that the apostles were robbers and hypocrites, 
as Mr. Volney calls them ? The existence of wicked 
and artful men within the pale of the christian church 
cannot, by any legitimate process of reasoning with 
which we are acquainted, demonstrate the falsehood of 
Christianity itself; or that the apostles were not possessed 
of good moral characters, and commissioned from 
heaven to preach the gospel. The misconduct of their 
successors cannot prove the apostles to be impostors ; 
I 



96 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

and unless they can be proved to be impostors, Chris- 
tianity cannot be proved to be a fable. If, therefore, 
Mr. Volney wishes to include in his description the 
whole body of the christian priesthood, from the apostles 
down to the present time — a matter clearly necessary 
to the conclusiveness of his argument — he must give 
us something more than his own bare assertion, that he 
has accurately depicted the character of the apostles. 
And, on the other hand, if he does not wish to include 
the apostles in his description of the christian priesthood, 
then it is hard to comprehend how he has proved the 
apostles to be impostors, and thence, consequently, the 
gospel to be a cheat. But Mr. Volney does not appear 
to be very remarkable for close reasoning. His zeal 
in the cause of irreligion is apt to outrun his judgment. 

Now we readily grant, that during the lifetime of their 
master, the apostles entertained the ambitious hope, 
common to them with the rest of their countrymen, that 
he was about to establish a temporal sovereignty in 
which his tried adherents might expect the highest 
places of dignity and emolument. This, Peter might 
have had in view when he said, " Behold, we have for- 
saken all and followed thee; what shall we have there- 
fore V 

But whatever expectations of this sort were formed 
during the lifetime of Christ, must have been speedily 
dissipated by his unwelcome death. And so, in fact, 
they were. After the trifling resistance which one of 
his followers made upon his apprehension in the garden, 
all the disciples, we are told, forsook him and fled. With 
his crucifixion every hope vanished. Their language 
was, But we trusted that it had been he which should 



AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 97 

have redeemed Israel, The turn of the expression im- 
plies that that expectation was at an end, and that the 
bitterness of disappointment had succeeded. Christ's 
disciples had once indeed believed that he was the 
promised Messiah; but the circumstances of his death 
had led them to suspect that they had been grievously 
mistaken in their opinion. Now had they been engaged 
in an imposture, it is presumable that they would have 
laid hold of the circumstance of Christ's death, as a 
most favorable one in order to deceive mankind, since 
all the prophets predicted that the Messiah should be 
cut off, and since the whole Jewish nation was looking 
for a Great Deliverer about that time. But, instead of 
availing themselves of this favorable circumstance, as 
a means of promoting their interests, very shortly after 
the death of Christ, disappointed and dispirited, they 
returned to their former temporal avocations, and no- 
thing more was heard of the affair, until, of a sudden, 
by the resurrection of their Master from the tomb, they 
displayed their recovered courage, though on different 
grounds, altogether different, from those on which they 
had heretofore exhibited so much confidence. Now the 
prominent object of their ambition was an eternal king- 
dom in a future world, and they even welcomed all 
those severe trials which had been announced as their 
earthly portion. Henceforth, we hear nothing more of 
any worldly, and interested, and selfish projects. They 
seem wholly absorbed in the plan of announcing, every 
where, their crucified preceptor — as one whose office it 
was to save his people from their sins ; to break the 
tyrannous yoke of cruel passions, and to conduct his 
faithful disciples to heaven by the road of much affliction 



98 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

upon earth. In the prosecution of such a plan, they 
are content to endure sufferings from which human na- 
ture revolts. They are willing to lose all, and to resign 
all — character, wealth, comfort, and life, in the dis- 
charge of what they believe to be a bounden duty; and, 
as for recompense, the only remuneration which they 
seek or desire, is the beatific vision of their murdered 
and disgraced Lord in the future world of spirits. What 
they profess themselves, they teach to others. They 
freely invite all mankind to the participation of a life of 
misery, and trouble, and persecution; they affect not to 
conceal that their Master was ignominiously executed 
as a malefactor; they dissemble not the contempt, and 
hatred, and ruin of all worldly projects, which those 
who follow them must prepare to encounter. But then, 
as an allurement to those whom they addresss, they 
promise them abundance of comfort and happiness 
hereafter. 

Now the simple question is, if the apostles were im- 
postors, did they not know that they were palming an 
imposition upon the world ? And would they have 
suffered and done so much, for the purpose of deluding 
mankind into the belief of a mere fiction ? 

Every part of the conduct of the apostles — every 
page of their writings, show most indisputably that they 
themselves sincerely believed the truth of what they 
taught, and that they sustained good moral characters. 
Yet, in defiance of the strongest moral evidence — in 
defiance of the first principles of our sensitive nature — 
such is the credulity of the infidel that he finds it more 
easy to deem them impostors, than to acknowledge them 
the inspired messengers of heaven. 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 99 

From what we discover of the character and lives of 
the apostles, we must acknowledge that they were meek, 
humble, benevolent, consistent, just and good. Conse- 
quently, their testimony in favor of Christianity must 
be true; and the scriptures containing their history must 
have been written by the pen of inspiration. Euler, in 
his letters to a German princess, says, that "the holy 
life of the apostles and of the other primitive christians, 
appeared to him an irresistible proof of the truth of the 
christian religion. w 

Mr. Simpson's argument for the inspiration of the 
scriptures, will apply to Christianity in general, with 
much propriety and force ; and will close our remarks 
on the evidence drawn from the moral character of the 
sacred penmen : "Christianity must be the invention 
either of good men or angels, bad men or devils, or ot 
God. It cannot be the invention of good men or angels; 
for they neither would nor could invent a religion, and 
tell lies all the time, saying, " Thus saith the Lord," 
when it was their own invention. It could not be the 
invention of bad men or devils; for they would not invent 
a religion which commands all duty, forbids all sin, and 
condemns their souls to hell to all eternity. Christian- 
ity, therefore, must be of God" 

V. Though Christianity be a divine religion, it may 
be possible, in the lapse of ages, that the record which 
discloses its leading doctrines and facts, has undergone 
some serious mutilation. 

Is this, or is it not the case ? This is an important 

inquiry, and it admits of an easy and satisfactory 

reply — a reply which must carry conviction to every 

candid mind as to the genuineness, authenticity, and 

I* 



100 AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 

incorruptness of the sacred books. That they were 
written by the men whose names they bear, is a thing 
quite as well established as that the Eneid was composed 
by Virgil, or the Illiad by Homer. The very literary 
character of the Old and New Testament scriptures, 
would go far to prove that they are genuine productions. 
They exhibit a diversity of style, which shows that 
they were written by various authors, and they display 
an idiomatic peculiarity corresponding to the ages and 
circumstances in which they were written. 

If the sacred books are forgeries, then they must have 
been palmed upon the world by persons whose impos- 
ture could not be detected. But how could this occur 
in the matter of giving currency to public faith? Take, 
for instance, the books of the Old Testament scriptures. 
If they are not genuine productions, I ask who are the 
parties concerned in the iniquitous forgery? It could 
not be the men of heathen antiquity; for they were 
imperfectly acquainted with the national peculiarities 
and rites of the Hebrews; and were not likely, more- 
over, to stamp the seal of their approbation upon re- 
cords which accredited the posterity of Abraham as 
God's peculiar people, and condemned the whole gen- 
tile world as sunk in a state of idolatry and crime. It 
could not be the followers of Christ, for it is a matter 
of undoubted historical certainty, that the scriptures of 
the Jews existed many centuries before the christian 
name was ever heard of. It could not be the Jews 
themselves, for never was there a more uncomprom- 
ising exposure of the crimes, idolatries, and righteous 
chastisement of a rebellious and guilty nation than that 
which they contain. 



AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 101 

If we look at the New Testament, it is equally un- 
reasonable to suppose that it is not a genuine produc- 
tion, and that it was not actually written by the men to 
whom it is attributed. Unbelieving Jews and gentiles 
were happily, in this instance, the guardians of revela- 
tion; for as they were equally opposed to the doctrine 
of Him whom they combined to crucify, and as they 
were both zealous in persecuting all who ranked them- 
selves as his humble and devoted followers, it stands to 
reason, that if the records of the christian faith had not 
been genuine narratives of facts, furnished by the very 
men who assume to be tbe writers, the dishonest effort 
would have been detected and exposed; and the whole 
world, and all succeeding generations, would have been 
warned against the iniquitous attempt to originate a 
history not founded in facts. 

The genuineness of the books of scripture was never 
called in question by friends or enemies. From the 
earliest period of Jewish history downwards, the He- 
brews regarded their sacred books as their peculiar 
treasure, and associated them all with their several 
authors, and ages. And, in like manner, the Christians, 
from the apostolic age to the present moment, have had 
a regular succession of writers, who have quoted, and 
authenticated, in various ways, the books which com- 
pose the New Testament canon. 

It is an interesting fact, that Celsus, and Porphyry, 
and Julian, and an endless race of enemies to Christian- 
ity, combine with the apostolic fathers, Barnabas, Cle- 
ment, Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin Martyr, Tertulian, Ori- 
gen, and Eusebius, in accrediting the books of scripture 
as genuine productions. The most inveterate opponents 



102 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

of revelation have been compelled to admit the fact that 
the Bible is no forgery. 

Nor is there the slightest reason to suspect that the 
scriptures have undergone any material alteration, or 
that they are not now in the same condition as when 
written by Moses and the prophets, the evangelists and 
apostles. 

To say that the original Hebrew and Greek manu- 
scripts of the Bible, or that the ancient versions and 
translations had not been deviated from in a single 
particular, would be to assume a position too lofty. In 
the process of transcribing some thousands of copies, 
before the art of printing was discovered, letters, sylla- 
bles, and even words, without the intervention of a 
miracle, must have been left out. But that there has 
been any serious or fraudalent omission or interpreta- 
tion, or that any one doctrine has been added or sub- 
tracted, cannot be shown by any enemy of revelation, 
and need not be apprehended by any humble minded, 
unlettered christian. 

As it respects the Old Testament scriptures, it is a 
well established fact that the Jews were their faithful 
guardians. They were often employed, indeed, in the 
act of transcribing them; but so strict were they in 
comparing the copies with the originals, that they num- 
bered both the words and letters. 

It is one of the wonders of providence, that God, for 
the preservation of these books, should make use of that 
scrupulous, and we might say, almost superstitious care, 
that was among those Jews whose office it was to keep 
the books of the Old Testament, the means of transfer- 
rins to us the sacred books uncorrupted. Among the 



AtTHENTICITT OF CHRISTIANITY. 103 

one thousand one hundred and fifty ?nanuseripts and 
versions of the Old Testament which are still extant, 
there is an essential agreement; an agreement most 
wonderful and striking, showing beyond all conjecture 
or doubt, the uncorrupted preservation of these precious 
records. 

Nor is the protection less manifest which has been 
spread over the New Testament. The early multipli- 
cation of copies, together with the several translations 
into foreign tongues, rendered any serious deviation 
from the original manuscripts, utterly impossible. Be- 
sides, in the course of one century from the period of 
Christ's resurrection, the gospel was spread over the 
greater part of Lesser Asia, and over many portions of 
Africa and Europe. So that if any of the early Chris- 
tians, in any particular district of the world, had attempt- 
ed to alter or mutilate the sacred books, it would have 
been impossible that they should have escaped detection 
among the many disciples of Christ, spread over other 
sections of the globe. The early heresies, too, which 
sprang up among the professed followers of Jesus, ren- 
dered the corruption of the sacred books next to an 
impossibility. Indeed, it may be safely affirmed, that 
the Christians were never charged, by their bitterest 
enemies, with the crime of mutilating their scriptures, 
and that these sacred records, have suffered less from 
transcribers, copyists, and translators, than any other 
documents of a remote antiquity. It is true, that in 
translations, persons have labored to serve their own 
purposes, by translating this way and that, as they 
thought fit. But for alteration of copies, that is what 
no one has ever attempted: which is a thing so easily 



104 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

spied out, that nothing is more so; and so must needs 
blast and dissever the cause and interest of that party it 
was designed to serve, and therefore could never be. 

It is, then, a most animating consideration, that by a 
variety of striking providences, it hath pleased Almigh- 
ty God to preserve to us unmutilated and uncorrupted, 
the very records which the first Christians held to be 
divine, and upon the doctrines and principles of which 
they were ready, in the midst of the greatest dangers, 
to repose their eternal all. It is highly consolatory to 
those who have but little time and few advantages for 
research, to be informed upon the most indubitable evi- 
dence, that in our English Bibles they have the same 
precious document which was read in the first assem- 
blies of the christian church; and that, in the multipli- 
cation of manuscripts and translations no serious or 
important alteration has been obtruded into the sacred 
text. For this fact, let the humble and devout Christian 
bless God; and in the contemplation of it let the infidel 
pause, and tremble; lest, peradventure, he should be 
found fighting against his Maker, and the interests of 
his soul. 



LECTURE V. 

Authenticity op Christianity shown from the 
harmony op the doctrines taught in the holy 
scriptures. — The existence and nature of God 
fall, and moral depravity of man restora- 
tion of man to the dlvine favor, through the 
merits of the vicarious and sacrificial death 
of Christ — influence of the Holy Spirit. 

" Should nature fail, and darkness hide the stars, 
And cover with a sable veil the sun, 
Unchanged and fixed, the truth of God remains, 
Nor knows the least decay. Here will I rest, 
With full assurance and unshaken faith. " 

If it could be made to appear that the doctrines of the 
Bible were unreasonable, and unworthy the character 
of the Almight} r , the evidence derived from their nature 
and harmony, would be of no weight. But though 
these doctrines be above reason, we hope to be able to 
make it appear in the two following lectures, that they 
are not contrary to reason, or derogatory to the divine 
character. 

I. The jirst and fundamental doctrine of Scripture 
is the existence of God. 

We have already shown that the speculations of phi- 
losophers, who denied revealed religion, have lead them 
into polytheism, atheism, uncertainty, and doubt. And 
it is evident that mankind would ever have remained 
ignorant of this great and fundamental doctrine, had not 



106 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

the Almighty made an express revelation of the same. 
God is the only way to himself. He cannot in the least 
be come at, defined or demonstrated by human reason; 
for where would the inquirer fix his beginning? He is 
to search for something — he knows not what; a nature 
without known properties; a being without a name. 

It is impossible for such a person to declare or ima- 
gine what it is he would discourse of, or inquire into; 
a nature he has not the least apprehension of; a subject 
he has not the least glimpse of, in whole or in part; 
which he must separate from all doubt, inconsistencies, 
and errors; he must demonstrate, without one known 
or sure principle to ground it upon; and draw certain 
necessary conclusions whereon to rest his judgment, 
without the knowledge of one term or proposition to fix 
his procedure upon; and therefore can never know 
whether his conclusion be subsequent, or not subse- 
quent, truth or falsehood, which is just the same in 
science as in architecture, to raise a building without a 
foundation. 

Suppose a person, whose powers of argumentation 
are improved to the utmost pitch of human capacity, 
but who has received no idea of God by any revelation, 
whether from tradition, scripture, or inspiration, how is 
he to convince himself that God is? and from whence 
is he to learn what God is? That of which he knows 
nothing, cannot be a subject of his thought, his reason- 
ings, or his conversation. He can neither affirm or 
deny, till he knows what is to be affirmed or denied. 
From whence, then, is our philosopher to divine, in the 
first instance, his idea of an infinite Being, concerning 
the reality of whese existence he is in the second place, 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY I0T 

to decide? Some have contended that the idea of God 
is innate', which supersedes the necessity of a revela- 
tion. But then every human being would be in posses- 
sion of it. Of this there is not only no proof at all, but 
the evidence of fact is against it; and the doctrine of 
innate ideas may with confidence be pronounced a mere 
theory, assumed to support favorite notions, but contra- 
dicted by all experience. We are all conscious that we 
gain the knowledge of God by instruction. And we 
observe, that, in proportion to the want of instruction, 
men are ignorant, as of other things, so of Cod. Peter, 
the wild boy; who, in the beginning of the last century, 
was found in a wood in Germany, far from having any 
innate sense of God or religion, seemed to be incapa- 
ble of instruction. And a deaf and dumb young man, 
who has been a student in the Philadelphia Institution 
for the deaf and dumb, thus, in writing, answers for 
himself on this and other points: " As I was not ac- 
quainted with religion before I went to that school, I 
had no idea of God. I was there taught that there was 
a God. T knew nothing of the creation or beginning 
of things. I thought the soil and the sun produced 
every thing. I thought the sun created all the heavenly 
bodies and the storms. I had not any thought nor idea 
of what became of men after death. I do not recollect 
of ever having thought any thing about men's spirits. 
I am thankful that ever I was taught to read and write; 
especially that 1 can read the Bible. " 

It is therefore to be concluded, that we owe the 

knowledge of the existence of God, and of his attributes, 

to revelation alone. But being now discovered, the 

rational evidence of both is copious and irresistible 

K 



108 AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 

Tell men there is a God, and their mind ombraces it as 
a necessary truth. Unfold his attributes; and they will 
see the explanation of them in his works. They will 
discover that "the heavens declare the glory of God, 
and the firmament showeth his handy work;" that " the 
invisible things of him from the creation of the world 
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that 
are made — even his eternal power and Godhead." 

Atheism makes but little progress among mankind 
when the book of revelation is spread before them, and 
carefully perused, for a perfect accordance is seen to 
exist, between what they there discover, and the declar- 
ations of the book of nature. 

The scripture character of the divine Being, has 
satisfied the human mind on this great primary doctrine, 
and has given it a resting place which it never before 
found, and from which if it ever departs, it finds no 
demonstration until it returns to the " marvellous light" 
into which revealed religion has introduced us. 

A class of ideas, the most elevated and sublime, and 
which the most profound minds in former times sought 
without success, have thus become familiar to the very 
peasants in christian nations. Nothing can be a more 
striking proof of the appeal which the scripture char- 
acter of God makes to the unsophisticated reason of 
mankind. 

Revelation having discovered to us the existence and 
nature of the divine Being, which could never have 
been discovered without a revelation, are now seen to be 
perfectly reasonable and philosophical. Who can ra- 
tionally object to the following description of the scrip- 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 109 

ture character of God, given by Dr. A. Clark, in his 
note on Gen. i, 1 : 

" The eternal, independent, and self-existent Being: 
the Being whose purposes and actions spring from 
himself, without foreign motive or influence : He who is 
absolute in dominion: the most pure, most simple, and 
most spiritual of all essences: infinitely benevolent, 
beneficent, true, and holy: the cause of all being; the 
upholder of all things: infinitely happy, because infi- 
nitely good: and eternally self-sufficient; needing nothing 
that he has made: illimitable in his immensity: incon- 
ceivable in his mode of existence; and indescribable 
in his essence: known fully to himself, because an 
infinite mind can only be comprehended by itself. In 
a word, a Being who, from his infinite wisdom, cannot 
err or be deceived ; and who, from his infinite good- 
ness, can do nothing but what is eternally just, right 
and kind." Such a Being, can rationally be held up as 
an object of wonder, worship, adoration and praise, by 
every intelligent being in the universe. 

But ideas of overwhelming greatness and glory, 
mingled with awful mysteriousness, with which, to all 
finite minds, and especially to the minds of mortals, 
the Divine essence and mode of existence must ever bo 
invested, are derived from the very names ascribed to 
God in the sacred scriptures. From these we learn 
that he is self-existing, strong, powerful, almighty, 
supporter, Lord, judge, independent, all-sufficient, the 
merciful being, the gracious one, whose nature is good- 
ness itself, the loving God, long suffering, the great 
or mighty one, the bountiful being, the truth or true 
one, the preserver of bountifulness — he who bear.': away 



110 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

iniquity, transgression, and sin — properly, the redeem- 
er, the forgiver, the pardoner, the being whose prero- 
gative it is to forgive sin and save the soul — the right- 
eous judge, who distributes justice with an impartial 
hand; and he who visits iniquity; he who punishes 
transgressions, and from whose justice no sinner can 
escape — the God of retributive and vindictive justice." 

It may be proper here to state, that Moses, the sacred 
historian, in his account of the creation, introduces a 
term which implies a plurality of persons in the divine 
Essence. He says, " In the beginning Elohim (or 
Aleim) created the heavens and the earth." This plural 
noun for the name of God, connected with verbs and 
persons singular, is used by Moses, in the short account 
of the creation, thirty different times, and perhaps five 
hundred times more, in one form or other, in the five 
books of his writings. By the use of this term, he no 
doubt intended to establish the doctrine of the trinity, 
as the language afforded other words in the singular 
number that would have answered his purpose equally 
well, if he did not design to record this doctrine as a 
doctrine of revelation — which is tenaciously believe-d 
by the Jews, and all orthodox Christians. Now this 
doctrine is so strongly represented in certain systems 
of the East, that we cannot doubt the source from 
whence they have been derived. 

The Hindoos believe in one god Brahma, the crea- 
tor of all things. And yet they represent him as 
subsisting in three persons; and they worship one or 
other of these persons throughout every part of India, 
And what proves that they hold this doctrine distinctly, 
is, that their most ancient representation of the deity is 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. Ill 

formed of one body and three faces. Nor are these 
representations confined to India alone; but they are to 
be found in other parts of the East. For we are told, 
by a late author, that in Hayti, and many other parts 
of America, the three manifestations of the deity — 
Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva, are worshiped in upwards 
of fifteen different places; sixteen in Asia; two in 
Africa; eleven in Europe; and four or five in Polyne- 
sia — making in all about fifty. These coincidences are 
both surprising and interesting. For, notwithstanding 
the different triads, which are called by different n^nes 
in different countries, often meant the past, present and 
future, or power of life or death, or the rising, blazing 
and setting of the sun, or some other consimilar ideas, 
as heaven, earth and hell, yet they always apply to the 
triple manifestations of the deity, distinguished and 
personified in creation, preservation, and destruction. 
Does not this indicate a primitive conformity of reli- 
gious ideas in mankind all over the world? And all, 
no doubt, received an account of the creation, given by 
Moses, through the medium of tradition or otherwise, 
from which they derived the doctrine of the trinity. If 
the Hindoos and others did not derive their idea of a 
plurality of persons in the godhead from Moses, we ask 
from what source it was derived? If, as some allege, 
the doctrine of the trinity among Christians, be of 
recent origin, whence have the Hindoos derived it? 
When we shall have read all the volumes of history and 
philosophy on the subject, we will not have obtained a 
satisfactory answer to this question. 

Add to the names of God, the actions and attributes 
ascribed to him in scripture, and a great and glorious 
K* 



112 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

character is brought to view, worthy of our high regard, 
supreme affections, and everlasting praise. 

II. We shall next notice the doctrine of the fall of 
man, and his moral depravity, as taught in the divine 
records. 

The Old and New Testaments agree in representing 
mankind as actually vicious, and capable, without moral 
check and control, of the greatest enormities; so that 
not only individual happiness, but social also, is con- 
stantly obstructed or endangered. To this the history 
of all ages bears witness, and present experience gives 
its testimony. All the states of antiquity crumbled 
down, or were suddenly overwhelmed by their own 
vices; and the general character and conduct of the 
people which composed them may be read in the works 
of their historians, poets, and satirists, which have been 
transmitted to our times. 

But Scripture not only assumes men to be actually 
vicious, but vicious in consequence of a moral taini in 
their nature, and what is thus represented as doctrine 
appeals to our reason through the evidence of unques- 
tionable fact. 

The strong tendency of man to crime, cannot be de- 
nied. Civil penal laws are enacted for no other purpose 
than to repress it. Every legal deed, with its seals and 
witnesses, bears testimony to that opinion as to human 
nature, which the experience of man has impressed on 
man; and history itself is a record chiefly of human 
guilt, because examples of crime have every where and 
at all times been much more frequent than examples of 
virtue. 

This tendency to evil, the Scriptures tell us, arises 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 113 

from " the heart," — the nature and disposition of man; 
and it i3 not otherwise to be accounted for. Some in- 
deed have represented the corruption of the race, as 
the result of association and example; but if men were 
naturally inclined to good, and averse to evil, how is it 
that not a few individuals only, but the whole race have 
become evil by mutual association? This would be, to 
make the weaker cause the more efficient, which is 
manifestly absurd. It is contrary too, to the reason of 
the case, that the example and association of persons 
naturally well disposed, should produce any other effect 
than that of confirming and maturing their good dispo- 
sitions; as it is the effect of example and association, 
among persons of similar tastes and of similar pursuits, 
to confirm and improve the habit which gives rise to 
them. As little plausibility is there in the opinion which 
would acconnt for this general corruption from bad de- 
dication. How, if man in all ages had been rightly 
affected in his moral inclinations, did a course of delete- 
rious education commence? How, if commenced, came 
it, that what must have been so abhorent to a virtuously 
disposed community, was not arrested, and a better 
system of instruction introduced? But the fact itself 
may be denied, as the worst education inculcates a virtue 
above the general practice, and no course of education 
was ever adopted purposely to encourage immorality. 

In the scriptures alone we find a cause assigned which 
accounts for the phenomenon, and we are bound there- 
fore by the rules of philosophy itself to admit it. It is 
this, that man is by nature prone to evil. 

A third view of the condition of man contained in the 
scriptures, is, that he is not only under the divine au- 



114 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

thority, but that the government of Heaven, as to him, 
is of a mixed character ; that he is treated with severity 
and with kindness also ; that, considered both as corrupt 
in his nature and tendencies, and as in innumerable 
instances actually offending, he is placed under a rigidly 
restraining discipline, to meet his case in the first 
respect, and under correction and penal dispensation 
with relation to the latter. On the other hand, as he is 
an object beloved by the God he has offended — a being 
for whose pardon and recovery divine mercy has made 
provision — moral ends are connected with these secu- 
rities, and nature and providence, as well as revelation, 
are crowned with instances of divine benevolence to 
-inning race. And only on the supposition or ad- 
of the moral depravity of man and the mixed 

racier of the moral government under which he 
lives, can the. various evils with which we are surrounded, 
both in the physical and moral world, be accounted for. 
It cannot be supposed that, if inhabited by a race of 
beings perfectly holy, and in the full enjoyment of the 
divine favor, this earth would be subject to destructive 
hquakes, volcanoes and inundations ; to blights and 

u'ths, the harbingers of famine ; to those changes in 
the atmosphere which induce wide-wasting epidemic 
disorders; to that general sterility of soil which renders 
labor necessary to such a degree as fully to occupy the 
time of the majority of mankind, prevent them from 
engaging in pursuits of an intellectual nature, and wear 
down their spirits; nor that the metals so necessary for 
man in civilized life ; and, in many countries, the ma- 
terial of the fire by which cold must be repelled, food 
prepared, and the most important arts executed, should 



authenticity op Christianity. 115 

be hidden deep in the bowels of the earth, so that a 
great body of men must be doomed to the dangerous 
and humbling labor of raising them ! These and many- 
other instances show a course of discipline very incon- 
gruous with the most enligthened views of the Divine 
character, if man be considered an innocent being* 
On the contrary, that he is under an unmixed penal 
administration, is contradicted by the facts, that the 
earth yields her increase ordinarily to industry ; that 
the destructive convulsions of nature are but occasional; 
and that, generally, the health of the human race pre- 
dominates over sickness, and their animal enjoyments 
over positive misery. To those diverse relations of 
man to God, as stated in the Bible, the contrarieties of 
nature and providence bear an exact adaptation. Assume 
man to be any thing else than what is represented in 
scripture, and they would be discordant and inexplicable; 
in this view they perfectly harmonize. Mail is neither 
innocent nor finally condemned — he is fallen and guilty, 
but not excluded from the compassion, and care, and 
benignity of his God. 

The evidence of man's moral depravity is so great 
and convincing, that even heathens have admitted the 
fact, though they were unable to account for the cause 
of this phenomenon in the moral world. The scriptures 
confirm the awful truth, that man has fallen from his 
original state of moral rectitude and happiness, and 
that he is the procuring cause of his own calamity. 

Thus the voluntary goodness of God is not impugned 
by the various evils which exist in the world ; for we 
see them accounted for by the actual corrupt state of 
man, and by a righteous administration, by which good- 



116 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

ness must be controlled to be an attribute worthy of 
God. 

It would otherwise be weakness, or a blind passion, 
and not a wisely regulated affection. On the other 
hand, there is clearly no reason for resorting to notions 
of necessity, and defects in the essential nature of cre- 
ated things, to prove that God is good ; or, in other 
words, according to the hypothesis of some heathen 
philosophers, as good as the stubbornness of matter, and 
the necessity that vice and misery should exist, would 
allow. His goodness is limited by moral, not by physical 
reasons; but still, considering the globe as the residence 
of a fallen and perverse race, that glorious attribute is 
heightened in its lustre by this very circumstance. It 
arrays itself before us in all its affecting attributes of 
mercy, pity, long-suffering, mitigation, and remission. 
It is goodness poured forth in the richest liberality, 
where moral order permits its unrestrained flow ; and 
it is never withheld but where the general benefit de- 
mands it. Penal acts never go beyond the rigid neces- 
sity of the case; acts of mercy rise infinitely above all 
desert. 

But how did moral evil arise ? and how is this cir- 
cumstance compatible with the divine goodness? How- 
ever these questions may be answered, it is to be 
remembered that, though the answer should leave some 
difficulties in full force, they do not press exclusively 
upon the scriptures. Independent of the Bible, the fact 
is, that evil exists ; and the Deist who admits the exist- 
ence of a God of infinite goodness, has as large a share 
of the difficulty of reconciling facts and principles on 
this subject, as the Christian ; but with no advantage of 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 117 

that history of the introduction of sin into the world 
which is contained in the writings of Moses, and none 
from those alleviating views which are afforded by the 
doctrine of the redemption of man by Jesus Christ 

As to the source of evil— setting aside the absurd 
notions of heathens concerning their co-eternal and 
independent principles, the one good and the other evil, 
from which all good and evil flow ; and the dogma 
which makes God himself the efficient cause, or author 
of sin, which is found in the writings of the most 
unguarded advocates of the Calvinistic hypothesis, 
though now generally abandoned by the writers of that 
school — we remark, that moral evil is the result of a 
voluntary abuse of the freedom of the will in rational 
and moral agents; and that, as to the human race, the 
first pair sinned by choice, when the power to have 
remained innocent remained with them. 

Thus " sin entered into the world, and death by sin." 
Man deprived himself of the moral image, approbation, 
and smiles of his Maker; and the emotions of his own 
heart, the derangements and commotions in the physical 
world, the consent of all nations, and the untarnished 
records of inspiration, are standing monuments and 
testimonials of man's corrupt nature, and fall from a 
state of purity and happiness. With this concurring 
testimony, who can for a moment doubt the faithfulness, 
and truth of scripture history on the subject of man's 
moral condition ? 

III. The next leading doctrine of Christianity is tlm 
restoration of man to the Divine favor, through the 
merits of the vicarious and sacrificial death of Christ 
Jesus. 



118 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

To this many objections have been offered ; but, on 
the other hand, many important reasons for such a 
procedure have been overlooked. 

The Christian doctrine of atonement as a necessary 
merciful interposition, is grounded upon the liability of 
man to punishment in another life, for sins committed 
against the Law of God in this; and against this view 
of the future prospects of mankind, there can lie no 
objection of weight. Men are capable of committing si n, 
and sin is productive of misery and disorder. These 
positions cannot be denied. That to violate the laws of 
God and to despise his authority are not light crimes, is 
clear from their general effect upon society, and upon 
the world. The great sum of human misery, is the 
effect of actual offence, and as it is a principle in the 
wisest and most perfect human legislation, to estimate 
the guilt of individual acts, by their general tendency, 
and to proportion the punishment to them under that 
consideration, the same reason of the case is in favor 
of this principle, as found in Scripture; and thus con- 
sidered, the demerit of the sins of an individual against 
God, becomes incalculable. The Scriptures plainly 
declare that the punishment due to crime, will not be 
inflicted in full in this life, but in a future state; and that 
it will be final and unlimited. Without pursuing the 
argument further at present on this point, we remark, 
that the atonement for the sins of men which was made 
by the death of Christ, is represented in the Christian 
system, as the means by which mankind may be deliv- 
ered from this awful catastrophe — from judicial inflic- 
tions of the displeasure of a Governor, whose authority 
has been contemned, and whose will has been resisted, 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 119 

which shall know no mitigation in their degree, nor 
bounds to their duration; and if an end supremely great 
and benevolent, can commend any procedure to us, the 
scriptural doctrine of atonement commends this kind of 
appeal to our attention. This end it professes to accom- 
plish, by means, which, with respect to the supreme 
Governor himself, preserve his character from mistake, 
and maintain the authority of his government; and with 
respect to man, give him the strongest possible reason 
for hope, and render more favorable the circumstances 
of his earthly probation. These are considerations 
which so manifestly show, from its own internal consti- 
tution, the superlative importance of Christianity, that 
it would be exceedingly criminal to overlook them. 

How sin may be forgiven without leading to such 
misconceptions of the Divine character as would en- 
courage disobedience, and thereby weaken the influence 
of the Divine government, must be considered as a 
problem of very difficult solution. A government 
which admitted no forgiveness, would sink the guilty to 
despair; a government which never punishes offence, is 
a contradiction — it cannot exist. Not to punish, is to 
dissolve authority; to punish without mercy, is to de- 
stroy, and where all are guilty, to make the destruction 
universal. 

The authority of God must be preserved; and it ought 
to be observed, that in that kind of administration which 
restrains evil by penalty, and encourages obedience by 
favor and hope, we and all moral creatures, are the in- 
terested parties, and not the divine Governor himself, 
whom, because of his independant and efficient nature, 
our transgressions cannot injure. The reasons which 
L 



120 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

compel him to maintain his authority do not terminate in 
himself. If he becomes a party against offenders, it is 
for our sake, and for the sake of the moral order of the 
universe, to which sin, if encouraged by a negligent ad- 
ministration, and by entire or frequent impunity, would 
be the source of endless disorder and misery; and if the 
granting of pardon to offence, be strongly, and even 
severely guarded, we are to refer it to the moral neces- 
ity of the case as arising out of the general welfare of 
accountable creatures, liable to the deep evil of sin, and 
not to any reluctance on the part of our Maker, to for- 
give, much less, to any thing vindictive in his nature — 
charges which have been most inconsiderately and un- 
fairly brought against the christian doctrine of Christ's 
vicarious sufferings. 

If it then be true, that the relief, of offending man, 
from future punishment, and his restoration to the 
divine favor, ought, for the interests of mankind them- 
selves, and for the instruction and caution of other be- 
ings, to be so bestowed, that no license shall be given 
to offence; that God himself, while he manifests his 
compassion, should not appear less just, less holy, than 
the maintenance of an efficient and even awful author- 
ity demands; that his commands shall be felt to be as 
compelling, and that disobedience shall as truly, though 
not so unconditionally, subject us to the deserved penal- 
ty, as though no hope of forgiveness had been exhibited 
we ask, on what scheme; save that which is developed 
in the New Testament, these necessary conditions are 
provided for? 

If it be said, that sin may be pardoned in the exercise 
of the divine prerogative, the reply is, that if this pre- 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 121 

rogative were exercised towards a part of mankind 
only, the passing by of the others, would be with diffi- 
culty reconciled to the divine character; and if the 
benefit extended to all, government would be at an end. 

This scheme of bringing men within the exercise of 
mercy, does not therefore meet the obvious difficulty of 
the case, nor is it improved by confining the act of 
grace to repentant criminals, for repentance does not 
restore health injured by intemperance, property wast- 
ed by profusion, a character once stained by dishonora- 
ble practices. If repentance alone can secure pardon, 
then all must be pardoned, and government dissolved, 
as in the case of forgiveness by the exercise of mere 
prerogative; if a selection be made, then different and 
discordant principles of government are introduced into 
the divine administration, which is a derogatory suppo- 
sition. 

Some, to avoid the force of these obvious difficulties, 
have added reformation to repentance, and would re- 
strain forgiveness to those only, who to their penitence 
add a course of future obedience to the divine law. 
But a change of conduct, does not, any more than 
repentance, repair the mischief of former misconduct. 

Even the sobriety of the reformed man, does not 
always restore health; and the industry and economy of 
the formerly negligent and wasteful, repair not the 
losses of extravagance. And what government, in 
flagrant cases ever suspends punishment in anticipation 
of a change of conduct^ In the infliction of the penalty, 
all the principles of government, established among 
men, look steadily to the crime actually committed, and 



122 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

to the necessity of vindicating the violated majesty of 
the laws. 

Nothing can account for the practical corruption of 
mankind, but a moral taint in our hearts, a propensity 
of nature to evil and not to good; and that every other 
mode of accounting for the moral phenomenon which 
the history of man and daily experience present, is 
inconclusive and contradictory. How then is this sup- 
posed reformation to commence'? The whole of this 
theory assumes human nature to be what it is not; and 
a delusive conclusion must, therefore, necessarily re- 
suit. If man be totally corrupt, the only principles 
from which reformation can proceed, do not exist in his 
nature; and if we allow no more than that the propen- 
sity to evil in him is stronger than the propensity to 
good, it is absurd to suppose that in opposing propensi- 
ties the weakest should resist the most powerful — that 
the strcani of the rivulet should force its way against 
the tides of the ocean. The reformation, therefore, 
which is to atone for his vices, is improbable. The 
scriptures alone show, how God may be just, and yet 
the justifier o£ the ungodly. According to the plan here 
laid down, all the ends of government are answered. No 
license is given to offence; the moral law is unrepealed; 
the day of judgment is still appointed; future and eter- 
nal punishments still display their awful sanctions; a 
new and singular display of the awful purity of the 
divine character is afforded; yet pardon is offered to all 
who seek it; and the whole world may be saved. With 
such evidence of suitableness to the case of mankind; 
under such lofty views of connection with the principles 
and ends of moral government, does the doctrine of the 
atonement present itself. 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 123 

If it be important for us to know the extent and 
reality of our danger, by the death of Christ, it is dis- 
played, not in description, but in the most impressive 
action; if it be important that we should have assurance 
of the divine placability towards us, it here received a 
demonstration incapable of greater certainty; if grati- 
tude is the most powerful motive of future obedience, 
and one which renders command on the one part, and 
and active service on the other, "not grievous, but 
joyous," 7 the recollection of such obligations as the 
" love of Christ" has laid us under, is a perpetual 
spring to this energetic affection, and will be the means of 
raising it to higher and more delightful activity forever. 
All that can most powerfully illustrate the united ten- 
derness and awful majesty of God, and the odiousness 
of sin; all that can win back the heart of man to his 
Maker and Lord, and render future obedience a matter 
of affection and delight, as well as duty; all that can 
extinguish the angry and malignant passions of man to 
man; all that can inspire a mutual benevolence, and 
dispose to self-denying charity for the benefit of others; 
all that can arouse by hope, or tranquil ize by faith, is 
to be found in the vicarious death of Christ, and the 
principles and purposes for which it was endured. 

Ancient history tells us of a certain king who made a 
law against adultery, in which it was enacted that the 
offender should be punished by the loss of both eyes. 
The very first offender was his own son. The case 
was most distressing; for the king was an affectionate 
father, as well as a just magistrate. After much de- 
liberation and inward struggle, he finally commanded 
one of his own eyes to be pulled out, and one of his 
L* 



124 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

son's. It is easier to conceive than to describe what 
must have been the feelings of the son in these most 
affecting circumstances. His offence would appear to 
him in a new light ; it would appear to him not simple 
as connected with painful consequence to himself, but 
as the cause of a father's sufferings, and as an injury 
to a father's love. If the king had passed over the law 
altogether, in the son's favor, he would have exhibited 
no regard for justice, and he would have given a very 
inferior proof of affection. 

This action justified the king in the exercise of clem- 
ency ; it tranquilized the son's mind, as being a pledge 
of the reality and sincerity of his father's gracious 
purposes toward him ; and it identified the object of his 
esteem with that of his gratitude. 

We cannot suppose any mode of conduct so admira- 
bly fitted to impress the stamp of the father's character 
on the mind of the son, or to associate the love of right 
and the abhorrence of wrong with the most powerful 
instincts of the heart. The old man not only wished 
to act in perfect consistency with his own views of duty, 
but also to produce a salutary effect on the mind of his 
son; and it is the full and effectual union of these two 
objects, which forms the most beautiful and striking 
part of this remarkable history. 

There is a singular resemblance between this moral 
exhibition, and the communication which God has been 
pleased to make of himself in the gospel. We cannot 
but love and admire the character of this excellent 
prince, although we ourselves have no direct interest in 
it ; and shall we refuse our love and admiration to the 
King and Father of the human race, who, with a kind- 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 125 

ness and condescension unutterable, has, in calling his 
wandering children to return to duty and happiness, 
presented to each of us a like aspect of tenderness and 
purity, and made use of an argument which makes the 
most direct and irresistible appeal to the most familiar 
and at the same time the most powerful principles in the 
heart of man ? 

A pardon without a sacrifice could have made but a 
weak and obscure appeal to the understanding or the 
heart It could not have demonstrated the evil of sin ; 
it could not have demonstrated the graciousness of God; 
and therefore it could not have led man either to hate 
sin or to love God. If the punishment as well as the 
criminality of sin consists in an opposition to the char- 
acter of God, the fullest pardon must be perfectly use- 
less while this opposition remains in the heart ; and the 
substantial usefulness of the pardon will depend upon 
its being connected with such circumstances as may 
have a natural and powerful tendency to remove this 
opposition, and create a resemblance. The pardon of 
the gospel is connected with such circumstances, for 
the sacrifice of Christ has associated sin with the blood 
of a benefactor, as well as with our own personal suffer- 
ings ; and obedience with the dying entreaties of a 
friend breathing out a tortured life for us, as well as 
with our own unending glory in his blessed society. 

This act, like that in the preceding illustration, justi- 
fies God, as a Lawgiver, in dispensing mercy to the 
guilty ; it gives a pledge of the sincerity and reality of 
that mercy : and, by associating principle with mercy, 
it identifies the object of gratitude with the object of 
esteem in the heart of a sinner. The doctrine of the 



126 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

incarnation of the Deity, or " God manifest in the flesh,' ' 
is shadowed forth and confirmed by a doctrine of the 
East. The Hindoos believe that one of the persons in 
their Trinity was manifested in the flesh. Hence their 
fables of the incarnations of Vishnu. And this doctrine 
of the Deity is found over almost the whole of Asia. 

Whence, then, originated the idea that God should 
become man, or take our nature upon him ? The 
Hindoos do not consider that it was an angel merely, 
but God himself. The incarnation of God is a frequent 
theme of discourse among them, and we cannot doubt 
whence this peculiar tenet of religion has been derived. 
We must believe that all the fabulous incarnations of 
the eastern mythology are derived from the real incar- 
nation of Jesus Christ, or from the prophecies which 
went before it 

The doctrine of the atonement for sin, by the shedding 
of blood, is also found in the mythology of the East. 
To this day, in Hindoostan, the people bring the goat or 
kid to the temple, and the priest sheds the blood of the 
innocent victim, and even throughout the whole East, 
the doctrine of a sacrifice for sin seems to exist in one 
form or other. Thus, ever since "Abel offered unto 
God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain" — ever since 
Noah, father of the new world, " offered burnt-offerings 
upon the altar," sacrifices have been offered up in almost 
every nation : as if for a constant memorial before the 
world, that " without the shedding of blood there is no 
remission of sin." 

All these sacrifices can possess no virtue in remitting 
crime, only as they refer to the great sacrifice, offered 
on Calvary "for the sins of the whole world;" and 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 127 

wherever the doctrine of the atonement made by Christ 
is proclaimed and believed, they are immediately dis- 
continued. 

"Seest thou, Loienzo, where hangs all our hope 1 
Touched by the cross we live, or more than die; 
That touched not angels: more divine 
Than that which touched confusion into form. 
And darkness into glory : — 
That touch, with charm celestial, heals the paid 
Diseased — drives pain from gudt — lights life in death- 
Turns earth to heaven — to heavenly thrones transforms 
The ghastly ruins of the mouldering tomb." 

IV. Inseparably connected with the great doctrine of 
atonement, and adapted to the new circumstances of 
trial in which the human race was placed in consequence 
of the lapse of our first parents, is the doctrine of tlio 
influence of the Holy Spirit. 

This is a doctrine of revelation, and if the evidences 
of that revelation can be disproved, it may be rejected : 
i{ not, it must be admitted, whether any argumentative 
proof can be offered in its favor or not. That it is not 
unreasonable, may be first established. 

That God, who made us, and who is a pure Spirit, 
cannot have immediate access to our thoughts, our 
affections, and our will, it would certainly be much 
more unreasonable to deny than to admit ; and if the 
great and universal Spirit possesses this power, every 
physical objection, at least, to the doctrine in question 
is removed, and finite unembodied spirits may have the 
same kind of access to the mind of man, though not in 
so perfect and intimate a degree. 

Before any natural impossibility can be urged against 
this intercourse of spirit with spirit, we must know 
what no philosopher has ever professed to know — the 



128 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

laws of perception, memory, and association. We can 
suggest thoughts and reasons to each other, and thus 
mutually influence our wills and affections. We employ 
for this purpose the media of signs and words ; but to 
contend that these are the only media through which 
thought can be conveyed to thought, or that spiritual 
beings cannot produce the same effects immediately, is 
to found an objection wholly upon our ignorance. All 
the reason in the case, considered in itself, is certainly 
in favor of this opinion. We have access to each 
other's minds; we can suggest thoughts, raise affections, 
influence the wills of others — and analogy, therefore, 
favors the conclusion, that, though by different and 
latent means, unbodied spirits have the same access to 
each other, and to us. 

If no physical impossibility lies against this repre- 
sentation of the circumstances of our probation, no 
moral reason certainly can be urged against the prin- 
ciple itself, which makes us liable to the contrary soli- 
citations of other beings. That God, our heavenly 
F?.ther, should be solicitous for our welfare, is surely to 
be admitted, and he who would except to this doctrine 
of scripture, must also except to the divine government, 
as it is manifested in the facts of experience, and which 
clearly makes it a circumstance of our probation in 
this world, that our opinions, affections, and wills should 
be subject to the influence of others, both for good and 
evil. 

Since, therefore, no reason, physical or moral, can 
be urged against the doctrine of divine influence ; since 
it is found to accord entirely with the actual arrange- 
ments of the divine government in other cases, every 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 129 

thing is removed which might obstruct our view of the 
excellence of this encouraging tenet of divine revela- 
tion. The moral helplessness of man has been univer- 
sally felt, and universally acknowledged. To see the 
good and follow the evil, has been the complaiut of all; 
and precisely to such a state is the doctrine of divine 
influence adapted. 

As the atonement of Christ stoops to the judicial 
destitution of man, the promise of the Holy Spirit meets 
the case of his moral destitution. One finds him with- 
out any means of satisfying the claims of justice, so as 
to exempt him from punishment ; the other without the 
inclination or the strength to avail himself even of pro- 
claimed clemency and offered pardon, and becomes 
the means of awakening his judgment, and exciting, 
assisting, and crowning his efforts to obtain that boon, 
and its consequent blessings. The one relieves him 
from the penalty; the other from the disease of sin. 
The former restores man to the favor of God; the other 
renews him in his image. 

To this eminent adaptation of the doctrine to the 
condition of man, we may add the affecting view which 
it unfolds of the divine character. That tenderness 
and compassion of God to his offending creatures; that 
reluctance that they should perish ; that divine and 
sympathizing anxiety (so to speak) to accomplish their 
salvation, which were displayed by the "cross of Christ,"' 
are here in continued and active manifestation. A 
divine agent is seen " seeking, " in order that he may 
save "that which is lost ; ? " following the "lost sheep 
into the wilderness/' that he may " bring it home re- 
joicing ; delighting to testify of Christ, because of the 



ISO AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

salvation he has procured ; to accompany with his in- 
fluence his written revelation, because that alone contains 
" words by which men may be saved ;" affording special 
assistance to ministers, because they are the messen- 
gers of God, proclaiming peace; and, in a word, 
knocking at the door of human hearts ; arousing the 
conscience; calling forth spiritual desires ; opening the 
eyes of the mind more clearly to discern the meaning 
and application of the revealed word, and mollifying 
the heart to receive its effectual impression; — doing this 
too without respect of persons, and making it his special 
office and work to convince the mistaken ; to awaken 
the indifferent ; to comfort the penitent and humble ; to 
plant, and foster, and bring to maturity in the hearts of 
the obedient every grace and virtue. These are views 
of God which we could not have had but for this doc- 
trine; and the obvious tendency of them is, to fill the 
heart with gratitude ; to impress us with a deep convic- 
tion of the value of renewed habits ; and to admonish 
us of the infinite importance of a 'personal experience 
of the benefits of Christ's death, since the means of 
our pardon and sanctification, unapplied, can avail us 
nothing. 

But none can despair of conquering any evil habit, 
who steadily look to this great doctrine and cordially 
embrace it ; none can despair of being fully renewed 
again in the image of God, when they know that it is 
one of the offices of the Holy Spirit to effect this reno- 
vation; and none who habitually rest upon the promise 
of God, for all that assistance which the written word 
warrants them to expect in difficult and painful duties, 
and in those generous enterprises for the benefit of 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 131 

others, which a hallowed zeal may lead them to engage 
in, will be discouraged in either. They will be ebvated 
into a decision, a boldness, an enterprise, a persever- 
ance, which no other consideration or trust could 
inspire. Such are the practical effects of this doctrine. 
It prompts to attainments in inward sanctity and outward 
virtue, which it would have been chimerical to consider 
possible, but for the aid of a divine influence ; and it 
leads to exertion for the benefit of others, the success 
of which would otherwise be too doubtful to encoui'age 
the undertaking. 

This doctrine is also confirmed and shadowed forth 
by the doctrines of the East. In the most ancient 
writings of the Hindoos it is asserted that the " divine 
spirit, or light of holy knowledge," influences the 
minds of men. And the man who is the subject of 
such influence, is called the "man twice born." Christ 
says, "except a man be born of the Spirit, he cannot 
enter the kingdom of heaven." And the apostle adds, 
" The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that 
we are the children of God." These analogies are 
not casual, as every man who is versed in the holy 
scriptures, and in oriental mythology, well knows. 
They are general and systematic. The light of nature 
could not teach such doctrines as these found among 
the Hindoos, for they are above the light of nature, con- 
sequently they must be relics of the first faith of the 
earth, and strong characters of God's primary revela- 
tion to men, which neither the power of man nor time 
itself hath been able to destroy. And in consequence 
of the inhabitants having lost sight of the true God, 
they apply these doctrines to their false gods. 
M 



132 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

Though the light of nature, or reason, could never 
have discovered these doctrines, independently of reve- 
lation; yet, when revealed, we discover nothing in them 
that is unreasonable, or that is not of practical and ev- 
erlasting benefit to our fallen race. And the nature and 
harmony of these doctrines, as taught in the holy 
scriptures, help to confirm the truth and exhibit the 
glory of that system of religion to which they belong. 



LECTURE VI. 



Authenticity of Christianity shown from the 
nature and harmony of the doctrines taught 

in the sacred scriptures immortality of the 

soul future rewards and punishments, and 

the resurrection of the human body from the 

DEAD. 

u To think on thee, though dim the thought; 

To guess thy pure perfection, though unknown; 

To feel thou art my Maker, and that aught 

That's noble in me may approach thy throne, 

Is evidence within me, that the spark 

Thy power hath kindled with unearthly fire, 

Where thought and consciousness thou didst impart, 

Shall nut like mere vitality expire; 

Eternal shall it be, o'er death to spring: 
Strong in its new existence it shall soar, 
And like a wild bird panting on the wing, 
Rise to that land where spring is evermore.'' 

I. Another doctrine clearly taught in the holy scrip- 
tures is, the immortality of the soul, which is both 
intimated and illustrated by evidence drawn from reason, 
experience, and philosophy. 

This evidence makes it possible, said probable, as w T ell 
as necessary, that the soul of man should survive the 
dissolution of the body, and be eternal in its duration. 
But for the certainty of the truth of this great doctrine, 
we are dependent on revelation alone, 



134 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

1. The nature of the soul presents some indications 
of its immortality. Matter, however modified, can 
neither reason, perceive, nor will. Hence, that being 
which is endowed with these powers, must be distinct 
from the body. And as there can be no medium between 
material and immaterial, that primary principle which 
is conscious, which perceives, and which understands, 
must be immaterial; and thafr which is immaterial is a 
simple, uncompounded substance, consequently capable 
of an immortal existence. 

If the soul perish, it must be by dissolution, privation, 
or annihilation. By dissolution, we mean a separation 
of those parts or properties of any being, which are 
necessarily united, in order to the existence and identity 
of that being. By privation, we mean the subtracting 
something from any being, without which that being 
cannot subsist. And by annihilation, we mean not only 
the destruction of any and every modification which it 
might have assumed, but the utter destruction of all 
being, and the reduction of any substance to absolute 
nonentity. The soul cannot perish through dissolution, 
because it is not an assemblage of distinct substances, 
but, as has been already proved, a simple, uncom- 
pounded substance, and therefore has no parts to be 
dissolved. To suppose any substance capable of being 
dissolved which has no parts, is a contradiction — it sup- 
poses a separation of parts, in a being which has no 
parts to be separated. 

An exclusion of all parts is necessary to the exist- 
ence of an immortal substance; and to suppose a being 
to be dissolved, from the very nature of whose existence 
a capacity of dissolution is necessarily excluded, is a 



AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 185 

flat contradiction — it is supposing a being to be capable, 
and yet incapable of dissolution, at the same time. 

Whatever has parts, cannot be immaterial ; and what 
has no parts can never lose them. To suppose an im- 
material substance to have parts, destroys its immateri- 
ality ; for it is a contradiction to suppose that to be 
immaterial, which by its parts is demonstrated to be 
otherwise ; and if the soul be immaterial, which has 
been already proved, it necessarily follows that it cannot 
perish by dissolution. 

Neither can it be conceived that the soul can perish 
by privation. For if privation imply the subtracting 
something from a substance, without annihilating the 
substance itself, (in which sense we here use it,) it is 
certain, that whatever substance undergoes privation, 
must be a subject capable of it ; and whatever is capa- 
ble of privation, must be capable of surviving the loss 
of that which privation takes away. We, therefore, in 
this place, consider privation as distinct from annihila- 
tion, the former implying the loss of something which 
is necessary to the being of any substance, and the 
latter implying the total nonentity of the substance 
itself. If, therefore, the soul perish by privation, the 
soul itself must have something included within its na- 
ture which it can lose without the total annihilation of 
its being. For where the substance itself is reduced to 
a perfect nonentity, it cannot be said to be thus reduced 
by privation, but by annihilation, which is not the sub- 
ject under immediate consideration. That a privation, 
when applied to compound bodies, may reduce to non- 
entity that cohesion of parts which it takes away, we 
readily admit : yet the substance itself from which the 

M* 



130 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY, 

parts are taken, and between which cohesion is de- 
stroyed, must remain in existence and survive its loss. 
It is true, the modification of being in this substance 
may, and must be considerably changed; but this alter- 
ation in the modes of being, cannot affect the identity of 
being itself. A substance, and a modification of that 
substance are two distinct things. The peculiar modi- 
fication of being may be destroyed, while the substance 
remains ; but where the substance is destroyed, the 
modification which depended upon the substance for its 
existence, must necessarily perish with it. 

Privation can only apply to beings which are capable 
of separation and change ; for where privation takes 
place there must be a change, but the soul, being a pure, 
simple substance, cannot be separated or changed by 
privation, therefore it can never perish by its influence. 

It now remains to be considered, whether the soul can 
perish by annihilation. If it can, all rational proof of 
its immortality may be given up ; if not, the scriptural 
account of its immortality will appear consistent and 
reasonable. If the soul perish by annihilation, it must 
be either through the tendency of its own nature, or the 
application of external force. If an immaterial sub- 
stance has no parts — has nothing to lose — and cannot 
change, it must follow that such a substance cannot 
perish through the tendency of its own nature. 

A being which cannot change, can have no tendencies 
but such as are peculiar to its nature ; and that its 
natural tendency is to life, is demonstrated by its actual 
existence. And if it have a tendency to its own annihi- 
lation, it must tend to life, and not tend to life, at the 
§»;mne instant ; or, it must have a tendency to annihila- 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRlSTIANiTTf. 137 

tion, and yet have no such tendency, in the same mo- 
ment. In either case the contradiction is equal, and 
therefore no such tendency can possibly exist in the 
soul. 

As the soul cannot perish through the tendency of its 
own nature, the next consideration is, whether it can 
perish or not, from the application of external force ? 
All external force must be either natural or supernatural; 
and the means through which this external force must 
be applied, must be either material or immaterial. As 
an immaterial substance has no surface, it is a contra- 
diction to suppose that matter can ever be brought in 
contact with it. To suppose such a contact possible, is 
to suppose a surface in an immaterial being, which, at 
the same time, is supposed to exist without it. 

If matter can only act through the medium of matter, 
and an immaterial substance can be supposed to perish 
by it, matter must either act where it is not, or extend 
itself beyond its own being; but in admitting either, the 
mind is conducted to a contradiction. For when any 
portion of matter extends itself to an immaterial nature, 
it can no longer be moved from it; and that which is not 
removed from an immaterial nature, cannot be material. 
And to suppose matter to be thus extended, is to suppose 
it to be matter, and not matter, at the same time. Nor 
can any accession of power overcome the contradiction. 
No acquisition of power can alter the identity of its 
nature, without destroying its identity; or communicate 
to it a force of which its nature is incapable. The 
supposition includes not only a moral, but an absolute 
impossibility. 

To suppose matter to annihilate a nature with which 



188 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

it has no physical connection, is to suppose it to act 
where it can have no influence, which every one must 
see is not only a moral, but an absolute, impossibility. 
It therefore follows, that the soul cannot perish by the 
instrumentality of matter, whatever influence be attri- 
buted to the propelling power. In fact, it appears im- 
possible to conceive the soul's annihilation according to 
the present laws of nature, and our means of knowing 
them. If the soul be reduced to nothing, we ascertain 
the existence of a point that denominates a nonentity. 
And to ascertain the certainty of what is admitted to 
have no kind of existence, supposes nothing itself to be 
identified, which is a contradiction. And in supposing 
that strange point to be ascertained, where entity ends, 
and where nonentity begins, (which must be admitted if 
annihilation be supposed possible,) we give a beginning 
to what we admit to have no kind of possible existence, 
which is a flat contradiction in terms. 

To suppose a nonentity to have no beginning, is to 
suppose an entity to have no end; and what has no end, 
instead of being annihilated, must be immortal. To 
give, therefore, a beginning to nonentity, is a contradic- 
tion in terms; and to deprive it of it, is to make the 
soul immortal. Annihilation is, therefore, impossible 
in the nature of things. 

It may be said, that the bodily organs, are the only 
and necessary media through which the soul acts, and 
when death takes place, the soul must, necessarily perish 
with the body. To which we reply, that the powers of 
reason, perception, and volition, being independent of 
sensation, as appears from the phenomenon of dream- 
ing, prove that the soul may exercise all its powers 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 139 

when the senses are disolved; and consequently, that it 
is capable of an immortal existence. 

Again, if a limb of mine be dissected, or taken off, 
does that depreciate the eighth, or sixteenth part of my 
soul? Nay, I am as rational as ever; therefore, if my 
soul can exist without a part of the body, why not exist 
without the whole, or any part of it? Every man's 
own experience tells him, that the powers of the mind, 
are not at perfect liberty, while acting upon organs. 
There is a heaviness in consequence of mortality, 
which is the effect of sin; consequently, when the soul 
is liberated from this clay tenement, all its powers shall 
appear in their full strength and activity. 

If the soul cannot perish, through a material cause, 
it only remains to be considered whether its annihila- 
tion can proceed from an immaterial cause. Whatever 
this immaterial cause may be, it is certain, that it must 
possess intelligence, because an immaterial power which 
is abstracted from all intelligence, is a nonentity, of 
which we can form no conception. If then, the soul 
perish through an immaterial, intelligent power, or agent, 
this agent must operate in its effects, quite contrary to 
its own nature; and this necessarily ends in the same 
contradiction that the supposition does, of the sonl annihi- 
ilating itself. For suppose any intelligent agent to pos- 
sess a power which produces an effect which is contrary 
to itself, and while it retains a nature, which is contrary 
to the effect produced by it, is to suppose it capable of 
producing such an effect, and incapable at the same time. 

If, therefore, the soul cannot perish, by privation, 
dissolution, or annihilation, it necessarily follows, that 
it must be capable of an immortal existence. 



140 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

2. The inexhaustible resources of knowledge and 

happiness which God hath provided for our enjoyment, 

and the continual progress which the soul is capable of 

making in virtue, strongly indicate the reality of a 

future state, and the immortality of the soul. For in 

this short life, we die before we have more than glanced 

on the works of creation; and those providences which 

so immediately concern us, we leave involved in clouds 

of darkness which the wisest of mortals are unable to 

penetrate, 

"Were man to live coeval with the sun, 
The patriarch pupil, would be learning still, 
And dying, leaving his lesson half unlearned.' , 

3. The desire of immortality implanted in the human 
mind, is a strong presumptive proof that man is possess- 
ed of an immortal nature. 

There is no human being who feels full satisfaction 
in present enjoyments. The mind is forever on the 
whig hi the pursuit of new acquirements, of new ob- 
jects, and, if possible, of higher degrees of felicity, 
than the present can afford. 

These desires, restless and unbounded, are to be 
found agitating the breasts of men of all nations, of all 
ranks and conditions in life. Whether we choose to 
indulge in ignorance or to prosecute the path of knowl- 
edge; to loiter in indolence, or to exert our active powers 
with unremitting energy; to mingle with social beings, 
or to flee to the haunts of solitude — we feel a vacuum 
in the mind, which nothing around us can fill; a long- 
ing after new objects and enjoyments, whichthing no 
earthly can satisfy. Regardless of the past, and un- 
satisfied with the present, the soul of man feasts itself 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 141 

on the hope of enjoyments which it has never yet pos- 
sessed. 

"Hnpe springs eternal in the human breast; 
Man never is. but always to be blest, 
The soul uneasy, and confined from home. 
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.''' 

That the desire of immortality is common, and 
natural to all men, appears from a variety of actions, 
which can scarcely be accounted for on any other 
principle, and which proves that the mind feels con- 
scious of its immortal destiny. The desire of existence, 
and of existence too which has no termination, appears 
to be the foundation of all our desires, and of all the 
plans we form in life. Annihilation cannot be an object 
of desire to any rational being. We desire something 
that is real, something that is connected with happiness 
or enjoyment; but non-existence has no object nor 
concern whatever belonging to it. When a wicked 
man, under a consciousness of guilt, indulges a wish 
for annihilation after death, it is not because nonexist- 
ence is in itself an object of desire, but he would choose 
it as the least of two evils: he would rather be blotted 
out of creation, than suffer the punishment due to his 
sins in the eternal world. 

It may also be remarked, that the desire of immor- 
tality, however vigorous it may be in ordinary minds, 
becomes still more glowing and ardent in proportion as 
the intellect is cultivated and expanded, and in propor- 
tion as the soul rises to higher and higher degrees of 
virtue and moral excellence* 

Since then, it appears that the desire of immortality 
is common to mankind, that the soul is incessantly 



142 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY 

looking forward to the enjoyment of some future good, 
and that this desire has been the spring of actions the 
most beneficent, and heroic, on what principle is it to 
be accounted for? 

"Whence springs this pleasing hope, this fond desire, 

This longing after immortality? 

Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror, 

Of falling into nought? — Why shrinks the soul 

Back on herself, and startles at destruction?" 

No satisfactory answer can be given to such ques- 
tions, if our duration be circumscribed within the limits 
of time, and the spark of intelligence we possess is 
quenched in everlasting night. 

The desires to which we now refer, appear to be an 
essential part of the human constitution, and, conse- 
quently, were implanted in our nature by the hand of 
our Creator; — and, therefore we must suppose, either 
that the desire of immortality will be gratified, or that 
the Creator takes delight in tantalizing his creatures 
with hopes and expectations which will end in eternal 
disappointment. 

To admit the latter supposition, would be inconsistent 
with every r rational idea we can form of the moral 
attributes of the Divinity. It would be inconsistent 
with his veracity, rectitude, wisdom, and benevolence. 

If there is no state either of punishment or reward 
beyond the grave, those desires of immortal duration, 
which seem at first view to elevate man obove the inhab- 
itants of this globe, actually place him below the level 
of the beasts of the field. They live divested of those 
innumerable cares and anxieties which harrass and 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 143 

perplex the children of men, and they never wish to 
go beyond the boundary which nature prescribes. 

Through ignorance of the future, they pass from life 
to death, with as much indifference as from watching to 
sleep, or from labor to repose. But man, amid all his 
enjoyments and prospects which surround him, feels 
uneasy and unsatisfied, because he pants for happiness, 
infinite in duration. His hopes and desires overstep the 
bounds of time, and of every period we can fix to 
duration, and move onward through a boundless eternity. 
And if he is to be forever cut off from existence when 
his body drops into the grave, how dismal the continued 
apprehension of an everlasting period being put to all 
his enjoyments after a prospect of immortality has been 
opened to his view! How then shall we account for 
these anomalies? How shall we reconcile these appa- 
rent inconsistencies? In what light shall we exhibit the 
conduct of the Creator, so as to render it consistent 
with itself? There is but one conclusion we can form, 
id consistency with the moral attributes of God, which 
will completely unravel the mystery of man being 
animated with unbounded desires, and yet confined to a 
short and limited duration in the present world, and that 
is, that this world is not the place of our final destina- 
tion, but introductory to a more glorious and permanent 
state of existence, where the desires of virtuous minds 
will be completely gratified, and their hopes fully 
realized. 

4. To what has been said on the immortality of the 

soul, add the proof, drawn from the moral powers of 

man, which cannot be fully exercised in this life. The 

fears and apprehensions which frequently arise in the 

N 



144 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

mind, in reference to the punishments of a future world; 
and the doctrine of the soul's, immortality, which has 
obtained, in whole or in part, among all nations. And 
the rational conclusion is, that Christianity receives 
additional evidence, from the fact of its teaching this 
doctrine clearly, and authoritatively. 

II. Intimately connected with the above doctrine, the 
scriptures teach the doctrine of future rewards and 
punishments. 

Many of the arguments showing the probability, and 
consistency of the souFs immortality, apply with equal 
force to the doctrine now in question, consequently, but 
little more need be added, to show that a future state of 
rewards and punishments, is both reasonable and neces- 
sary. 

1. Something more may be said in reference to the 
fearful apprehensions of the mind, and its fearful fore- 
bodings of futurity, when under the influence of remorse, 
which may be considered as intimations of a state of 
retribution in another world. 

As the boundless desires of the human mind, the 
vast comprehension of its intellectual faculties, and the 
virtuous exercise of its moral powers, are indications 
of a future state of more enlarged enjoyment, so, those 
horrors of conscience which frequently torment the 
minds of the wicked, may be considered as the forebo- 
dings of future misery and wo. For it appears as rea- 
sonable to believe, that atrocious deeds will meet with 
deserved opprobrium and punishment in a future state, 
as that virtuous actions will be approved o r and rewarded; 
and consequently, we find, that all nations who have 
believed in a future state of happiness for the righteous. 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 145 

have also admitted that there are future punishments in 
reserve for the workers of iniquity. Every man has 
in his own heart a moral sense which secretly condemns 
him when he has committed an atrocious crime, even 
when the perpetration of the crime is unknown to 
his fellow men, and when he is placed in circum- 
stances which raise him above the fear of human pun- 
ishment. There have been numerous individuals, both 
in the higher and lower ranks of life, who, without any 
external cause, or apprehension of punishment from 
men, have been seized with inward terrors, and have 
writhed under the agonies of an accusing conscience, 
which neither the charms of music, nor all the delights 
of the sons of men, have the least power to assuage. 
Of the truth of this position, the annals of history 
furnish many impressive examples. The following 
may suffice as specimens: — 

While Belshazzar was carousing at an impious ban- 
quet, the appearance of the fingers of a mams hand, 
and of the writing on an opposite wall, threw him into 
such consternation, that his thoughts terrified him, and 
his knees smote together. His terror did not arise from 
the fear of man; for he was surrounded by his guards 
and princes. Nor from the sentence of condemnation 
written on the wall; for he was then ignorant of the 
writing and its interpretation. But he was conscious of 
the wickedness of which he had been guilty, and of the 
sacriligious impiety in which he was then indulging. 
Tiberius, one of the Roman Emperors, was a gloomy, 
treacherous, and cruel tyrant. The lives of his people 
became the sport of his savage disposition. Barely to 
take them away was not sufficient, if their death was 



146 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

not tormenting and atrocious. His cruelty and impiety 
were incessent, and revolting to every principle of 
decency and virtue. Yet this tyrant, while acting in 
the plenitude of his power, and imagining himself 
beyond the control of every law, had his mind tortured 
with dreadful apprehensions. Neither the splendor of 
his situation as an emperor, nor the solitary retreats to 
which he retired, could shield him from the accusations 
of conscience, but he himself was forced to confess, in 
a letter to the Senate, the mental agonies he endured as 
a punishment for his crimes. Antiochus Epiphancs was 
another impious and cruel tyrant. He laid siege to the 
city of Jerusalem, slaughtered 40,000 of its inhabitants 
in three days, and polluted, in the most impious manner, 
the temple, and the worship of the God of Israel* 
Some time afterwards, when he was breathing out curses 
against the Jews for having restored their ancient 
worship, and threatening to destroy the whole nation, 
he was seized with a grievous torment in his inward 
parts, accompanied with such terrors as no remedies 
could assuage. Worms crawled from every part of 
him; his flesh fell away by piece-meal, and the stench 
was so great that it became intolerable to the whole 
army; and he thus finished an impious life by a misera- 
ble death. During this disorder, he was troubled with a 
perpetual delirium, imagining that spectres stood con- 
tinually before him, reproaching him with his crimes — 
Similar relations are given by historians of Herod, who 
slaughtered the infants at Bethlehem, of Galerius, the 
author of the tenth persecution against the Christians, 
of the infamous Philip II. of Spain, and of many others 
whose names stand conspicuous on the rolls of impiety 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 147 

and crime. It is related of Charles IX. of France, 
who ordered the horrible massacre of St. Batholomew, 
and assisted in this bloody tragedy, that, ever after, he 
had a fierceness in his looks, and color in his cheeks, 
which he never had before; that he slept little, and never 
sound; and waked frequently in great agonies, requiring 
soft music to compose him to rest, and at length died of 
a lingering disorder, after having undergone the most 
exquisite torments both of body and mind. 

Richard III. after he had murdered his innocent royal 
nephews, was so tormented in conscience that he had 
no quiet in his mind by day, nor could take any rest by 
night, but molested with terrifying dreams, would start 
out of his bed, and run like a distracted man about the 
chamber. 

Bessus the Pceonian being reproached with ill-nature 
for pulling down a nest of young sparrows and killing 
them, answered, that he had reason so to do. "Because 
these little birds never ceased falsely to accuse him of 
the murder of his father ;? This parricide had been 
till then concealed and unknown; but the revenging 
fury of conscience caused it to be discovered by him- 
self, who was justly to suffer for it. 

Many similar examples of the power of conscience 
in awakening terrible apprehensions of futurity, could 
be brought forward from the records of history, both 
ancient and modern — and there can be no question that, 
at the present moment, there are thousands of gay 
spirits immersed in fashionable dissipation, and profess- 
ing to disregard the realities of a future world, who, i{ 
they would lay open their inmost thoughts, would con- 
fess that the secret dread of a future retribution is a 
N* 



148 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

spectre which frequently haunts them while running 
the rounds of forbidden pleasure, and embitters their 
most exquisite enjoyments. Now, how are we to account 
for such terrors of conscience, and awful forebodings 
of futurity, if there be no existence beyond the grave, 
especially when we consider that many of those who 
have been thus tormented have occupied stations of 
rank and power, which raised them above the fear of 
punishment from man ? If their schemes were accom- 
plished, their passions gratified, and their persons and 
possessions secured from temporal danger, why did 
they feel compunction and alarm in the prospect of 
futurity? for every mental disquietude of this description 
implies a dread of something future. They had no 
great reason to be afraid even of the Almighty himself, 
if his vengeance does not extend beyond the present 
world. They beheld no miracles of vengeance — no 
almighty arm visibly hurling the thunderbolts of heaven 
against the workers of iniquity. They saw that one 
event happened to all, to the righteous as well as the 
wicked ; and that death was an evil to which all must 
sooner or later submit. They encountered hostile ar- 
mies with fortitude, and beheld all the dread apparatus 
of war without dismay. Yet, in their secret retirements, 
in their fortified retreats, where no eye but the eye of 
God was upon them, and when no hostile incursion was 
apprehended, they trembled at a shadow, and felt a 
thousand disquietudes from the reproaches of an inward 
monitor which they could not escape. These things 
appear altogether inexplicable, if there be no retribution 
beyond the grave. 

2. The unequal distribution of rewards and punish- 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 149 

ments in the present state, viewed in connection with 
the justice and attributes of God, forms another powerful 
argument in support of the doctrine of a future state. 

It is clearly discovered that the natural tendency of 
virtue or an obedience to the laws of God, is to produce 
happiness. In like manner, the natural tendency of 
vice is to produce misery. By connecting happiness 
with the observance of his laws, and misery with the 
violation of them, the Governor of the world, in the 
general course of his providence, gives a display of the 
"itude of his character, and the impartiality of his 
allotments towards the subjects of his government. But 
although these positions hold true in the general course 
of human affairs, there are innumerable cases in which 
the justice of God and the impartiality of his procedure 
would be liable to be impeached, if this world were the 
only scene of rewards and punishments. We behold a 
man dragged to the prison, or the scaffold, to be deprived 
of his liberty, or his life, for a small offence; while the 
tyrant, who has plundered provinces, and murdered 
millions of human beings — who has wounded the peace 
of a thousand families, and produced universal conster- 
nation and despair wherever he appeared, regales him- 
self in the midst of his favorites, in perfect security 
from human punishments. Instead of being loaded 
with fetters, and dragged to a dungeon to await in hope- 
less agony the punishment of his crimes, he dwells 
amidst all the luxuries and splendors of a palace : his 
favor is courted, his praises chanted, and historians 
stand ready to transmit his fame to future generations. 
How does the equity of the divine government appear 
in such cases, in permitting undue punishment to be 



150 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY* 

inflicted on the least offender, and in loading the greatest 
miscreant with unmerited enjoyments ? 

Again : in almost every period of the world, we 
behold men of piety and virtue, who have suffered the 
most unjust and cruel treatment from the hands of 
haughty tyrants and blood-thirsty persecutors. It would 
require volumes to describe the instruments of cruelty 
which have been invented by these fiend-like monsters, 
and the excruciating torments which have been endured 
by the victims of their tyranny, while justice seemed to 
slumber, and the perpetrators were permitted to exult in 
their crimes. If the present be the only state of pun- 
ishments and rewards, how shall we vindicate the rec- 
titude of the Almighty in such dispensations ? We 
must either conclude that no moral Governor of the 
world exists, or that justice and judgment are not the 
foundation of his throne ! 

3. A careful survey of the moral world, forces tha 
same conclusion upon the mind. 

We shall only notice the argument as illustrated from 
a consideration of those moral perceptions implanted in 
the human constitution, which may be considered as 
having the force of moral laws proceeding from the 
Almighty. The difference between right and wrong, 
virtue and vice, is founded upon the nature of things, 
and is perceptible by every intelligent agent whose 
moral feelings are not altogether blunted by vicious in- 
dulgences. Were a man to affirm that there is no 
difference between justice and injustice, love and hatred, 
truth and falsehood — and that it is equally the same 
with those who in their lives observe them, and those 
who do not — he would at once be denounced as a fool, 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 151 

or a madman, and hissed out of society. The difference 
between such actions is eternal and unchangeable, and 
every moral agent is enabled to perceive it. We can 
choose to perform the one class of actions, and to refrain 
from the other; we can comply with the voice of con- 
science, which deters us from the one, and excites us 
to the other; or we can resist its dictates, and we can 
judge whether our actions deserve reward or punish- 
ment. Now, if God has endowed us with such moral 
perceptions and capacities, is it unreasonable to suppose, 
that it is equally indifferent to him whether we obey or 
disobey the laws he has prescribed ? Can we ever 
suppose that He who governs the* universe is an uncon- 
cerned spectator of the good or evil actions that happen 
throughout his dominions ? If such suppositions cannot 
be admitted, it follows that man is accountable for his 
actions, and that it must be an essential part of the divine 
government to bring every action into judgment, and to 
punish or reward his creatures according to their works. 
And if it appear, in point of fact, that such retributions 
are not fully awarded in the present state, nor a visible 
distinction made between the righteous and the wicked, 
we must necessarily admit the conclusion that the full 
and equitable distribution of punishments and rewards 
is reserved to a future world, when a visible and ever- 
lasting distinction will be made, and the whole intelligent 
creation clearly discern between him that served God, 
and him that served him not. 

III. But, that both natures in which the actions of 
men are performed, may be re-united in their eternal 
state of rewards and punishments, the scriptures teach, 
that the body which has become subject to death by sin, 



152 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

shall arise from the dead, and survive the ruins of the 
tomb — " they that have done good to the resurrection of 
life, and they that have done evil to the resurrection of 
damnation." 

This doctrine is one of the peculiar discoveries of 
revelation; for, although some idea of the immortality 
of the soul was found among the ancient sages of the 
heathen world, they never seem to have formed the 
most distant conception, that the bodies of men, after 
putrefying in the grave, would ever be reanimated ; and 
hence, when Paul declared this doctrine to the Athenian 
philosophers, he was pronounced to be a babbler. And 
even now, those who subscribe to this sublime and con- 
soling truth, are called babblers and fools, by the pro- 
fessed philosophers of the day — to whom we reply, 
ki Why should it be thought a thing incredible, that God 
should raise the dead P Greater effects of almighty 
power, than raising the dead to life, are daily exhibited 
before our eyes — effects, too, which are equally mys- 
terious — yet because they are not immediately connected 
with theology, we cordially believe them, though they 
are perfectly inexplicable. But when divinity comes 
forward with its sublime mysteries, we are ready to 
conclude that they are too unphilosophical for our great 
minds to embrace ! Were men as consistent upon the 
subject of religion, as upon many other subjects, the 
moral world would wear entirely a different aspect. 

If the phenomena of nature do not induce men to 
renounce their belief in natural philosophy, why should 
the mysteries of revealed religion be considered ade- 
quate reasons for their rejecting it ? There is too much 
reason to fear that the consequences connected with a 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 153 

resurrection of the body from the dead, are the greatest 
reasons why this doctrine is rejected. For, those who 
pretend to disbelieve it, are of that class who are im 
willing to be judged " according to the deeds done in the 
body." And as it is natural for them to seek some 
cloak for their crimes, and some reason for their unbe- 
lief, they pretend that the doctrine of the resurrection, 
as well as many other doctrines of revelation, is not 
philosophical. They cannot comprehend it, therefore 
they cannot believe it. We do not pretend that this 
doctrine can be fully comprehended, yet we know that 
it can be as easily comprehended as the nature of light, 
caloric, electricity, magnetism, and many other things 
in natural philosophy, which we do not disbelieve on 
account of the mysteries connected with them. And 
though we are indebted to revelation alone, for this 
important doctrine, it may not be as unphilosophical as 
many pretend to believe. 

We are confident that the restoration of the human 
body from the dead, is wholly a supernatural work, 
and must be resolved into the miraculous power of 
Almighty God. Consequently, it will not be brought 
about by the laws adopted for the regulation and control 
of the material universe. Yet many things in nature 
appear to bear such a striking resemblance to the res- 
urrection of the body from death to life, that they may 
be considered as illustrations of this pleasing and 
glorious truth, and which tend to assist us in forming a 
conception, not only of the possibility of a resurrection, 
but also of the manner in which it may probably be 
effected, when the power of Omnipotence is interposed. 

1. The transformations of insects afford us a beautiful 
illustration of this subject 



154 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

The may-bug beetle burrows in the earth, where it 
drops its egg, from which its young creeps out in the 
shape of a maggot, which casts its skin every year, 
and, in the fourth year, it bursts from the earth, unfolds 
its wings, and sails in rapture through the air. A strik- 
ing emblem of the resurrection of the bodies of the 
righteous. 

All the butterflies which we see fluttering about in the 
summer months were originally caterpillars. Before 
they arrive at that highest stage of their existence, they 
pass through four different transformations. The first 
state of a butterfly is that of an egg ; it next assumes 
the form of a loathsome crawling icorm ; after remain- 
ing some time in this state, it throws off its caterpillar 
skin, languishes, refuses to eat, ceases to move, and is 
shut up, as it were, in a tomb. In this state, the animal 
is termed a chrysalis ; it is covered with a thin crust or 
shell, and remains sometimes for six or eight months 
without motion, and apparently without life. After 
remaining its allotted time in this torpid condition, it 
begins to acquire new life and vigor ; it bursts its 
imprisonment, and comes forth a butterfly, with wings 
tinged with the most beautiful colors. It mounts the 
air, ranges from flower to flower, and seems to rejoice 
in its new and splendid existence. 

How very different does it appear in this state from 
what it did in the preceding stages of its existence ! 
How unlikely did it seem that a rough, hairy, crawling 
worm, which lay for such a length of time in a death- 
like torpor, and enshrouded in a tomb, should be rean- 
imated, as it were, and changed into so beautiful a form, 
and endued with such powers of rapid motion ! Perhaps 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 155 

the change to be effected on the bodies of men, at the 
general resurrection, may not be greater, nor more 
wonderful in its nature, than are the changes which 
take place from the first to the last stage of a caterpil- 
lar's existence. 

2. There is another illustration, taken from a consid- 
eration of the chemical changes of matter, which has a 
-still more direct bearing on the doctrine of a resur- 
rection. 

We know that substances which are invisibly incor- 
porated with air, water, and other fluids, and which 
seem to be destroyed, may be made to re-appear in their 
original form by the application of certain chemical 
re-agents. What is more common than to dissolve 
gold and silver in their proper liquors, and yet when 
those opaque bodies are so wonderfully diffused, they 
become transparent, and quite vanish out of sight, the 
chemist by easy means can recall them again into a 
solid mass, not losing the least particle. Why then, 
should it be thought incredible that God should recall all 
the scattered particles of man's body 1 

Again : Hermes' tree, or the philosophical plant, 
when an entire vegetable, was reduced to dust and ashes, 
and resuscitated to all its pristine properties and simil- 
itude, and may in a strict sense be called the same 
plant. If man, by a chemical process, can restore a 
decomposed plant to its former state, is it unphilosoph- 
cal to suppose that God will restore the scattered and 
inactive dust of his creature man ? 

Once more : it is well known that carbon, which 
forms an essential part of all animal and vegetable 
substances, is found to be not only indestructible by 
O 



156 AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY 

age; but, in all its combinations, which are infinitely 
diversified, it still preserves its identity. In the state of 
carbonic acid, it exists in union with earths and stones 
in unbounded quantities ; and though buried for thou- 
sands of years beneath immense rocks, or in the center 
of mountains, it is still carbonic acid, for no sooner is 
it disengaged than it rises with all the life and vigor of 
recent formation, not in the least impaired by its torpid 
inactivity during a lapse of ages. 

In addition to these facts, it may be stated, that pro- 
vision has been made for the restoration of the fallen 
leaves of vegetables, which rot upon the ground, and, 
to a careless observer, would appear to be lost forever. 
It has been shown, by experiment, that whenever the 
soil becomes charged with such matter, the oxygen of 
the atmosphere combines with it, and converts it into 
carbonic acid gas — the consequence of which is, that 
this very same carbon is, in process of time, absorbed 
by a new race of vegetables, which it clothes with a 
new foliage, and which is destined to undergo similar 
putrefaction and renovation until the end of time-. 

These facts, and others of a similar description which 
might be stated, show that though human bodies may 
remain in a state of putrefaction for ages, in the earth 
or in the waters ; yet their component parts remain 
unchanged, and in readiness to enter into a new and 
more glorious combination, at the command of that 
Intelligence to whom all the principles of nature and 
all their diversified changes are intimately known ; and 
whose power is able to direct their combinations to the 
accomplishment of his purposes. 



AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 157 

3. Seed-time and harvest present another illustration 
of the doctrine of the resurrection. 

See that farmer scattering his grain over the surface 
of the earth. Is it not like " water spilt upon the 
ground that cannot be gathered up again V 9 Why does 
he throw away the staff of life? Behold, he buries it 
from our sight with the plough or the harrow. How 
wasteful ! How inconsistent ! The grain begins to 
putrefy. Surely the man has lost both his labor and 
his grain ! "Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not 
quickened except it die." Wait a while and see the 
result. You may be skeptical on this subject, but the 
farmer possesses philosophy enough to believe that his 
labor will not be in vain; that, after all the alteration 
his grain undergoes, it will sprout into a blade, and 
then bring forth a body after its kind. It requires the 
power of God to produce this effect ; and the same 
power is competent to raise the bodies of men from the 
confines of the tomb. 

We are aware that an objection against the doctrine 
of the resurrection has been raised, on the ground of 
men feeding upon animals which have fed upon men, 
and of men feeding upon one another. But if we keep 
in view the identity of the human body, which is proved 
by its retaining scars, shrunk sinews, &c. during life ; 
and the superintendence of a Being of infinite power 
and wisdom, which can as easily extend to a million, as 
to a thousand particles of matter, the force of this ob- 
jection will soon be done away. 

Another objection to the resurrection of the body, 
has been drawn from the changes of its substance during 
life. The answer to this is, that allowing a frequent 



158 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY, 

and total change of the substance of the body (which, 
however, is but a hypothesis) to take place, it affects not 
the doctrine of scripture, which is, that the body which 
is laid in the grave shall be raised up. 

But then, we are told, that if our bodies have in fact 
undergone successive changes during life, the bodies in 
which we have sinned, or performed rewardable actions, 
may not be, in many instances, the same bodies as those 
which will actually be rewarded or punished. We an- 
swer, that rewards and punishments have their relation 
to the body, not so much as it is the subject, but the in- 
strument of reward and punishment. It is the soul 
only which perceives pain or pleasure, which suffers or 
enjoys, in a moral sense, and is therefore the only re- 
wardable subject. Were we, therefore, to admit such 
corporeal mutations as are assumed in this objection, 
they affect not our accountability. The personal iden- 
tity, or sameness of a rational being, consists in self- 
consciousness. By this every one is to himself what 
he calls self, without considering whether that self be 
continued in the same or divers substances. It was, by 
the same self which reflects on an action done many 
years ago, that the action was performed. And as the 
above objection contradicts the common sense of man- 
kind, there can be no weight in it. 

4. We will notice one more illustration of the doc- 
trine of the resurrection, and we shall close our remarks 
on this branch of evidence, authenticating the christian 
religion. 

Autumn and spring present a periodical emblem of 
death and the resurrection. See the vegetable world 
fading and dying. All its life and beauty disappear. 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 159 

The chilling blasts of autumn, and then of winter, 
sweep over the forest, while nature puts on all her ha- 
biliments of mourning. But soon the chains of death 
are severed ; the sun begins to pour forth its vivifying 
rays ; the gentle showers descend ; the vegetable king- 
dom awakes to life, and a thousand glad hearts and 
melodious songsters hail the return of spring. Here is 
a change similar to that produced in the morning of the 
resurrection, when the trump of God shall sound, and 
they that are in their graves shall come forth, to realize 
an immortality of happiness or wo. The body is sown 
in weakness, but raised in power. It is sown in corrup- 
tion, and raised in incorruption. It is sown an animal 
body, but raised a spiritual body — that is, so organized 
as to be adapted to that eternal world of spirits it is now 
to inhabit. This resurrection is by virtue of the atone- 
ment made by Christ for fallen man ; and if men do 
not arise to a glorious immortality, it is their own fault, 
for ample provision has been made for them ; while if 
they arise to the resurrection of the just, it is through 
the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, they having 
received the atonement through repentance and faith. 

If Christianity, then, teaches the doctrine of the 
existence and nature of God — the fall, depravity and 
redemption of man — the influence of the Holy Spirit — 
the immortality of the soul — the doctrine of future 
rewards and punishments, and the resurrection of the 
human body from the dead* — doctrines not taught by 

* We think it superfluous to mention other doctrines of 
the Bible, in order to show their harmony, &c. For if these 
great primary doctrines are confirmed, the truth of all others 
need not be doubted. 

O* 



160 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

other systems, independently of revelation, which are 
so well adapted to the nature and condition of man, 
and some of which receive so many illustrations and 
corresponding evidences from philosophy, reason, and 
experience, do we not sin against light and knowledge, 
and act like men the most unreasonable and wicked 
if we wilfully neglect it 1 



LECTURE VII. 



Authenticity of Christianity shown from the 

TESTIMONY OF ANCIENT WRITERS CONCERNING UNU- 
SUAL EVENTS AND FACTS RECORDED IN SCRIPTURE 

OF COINS, MEDALS, AND ANCIENT MARBLES, AND OF 
TRADITION. 

Not only the doctrines of the Bible are confirmed and 
illustrated by testimony drawn from various sources, 
but also many of the unusual events recorded therein, 
are confirmed by coins, medals, ancient marbles, tradi- 
tion, and the testimony of ancient historians- In noti- 
cing the unusual events and facts recorded in scripture, 
we shall — 

I. Notice those found in the History of the Old 
Testament. 

1. The truth of the MosaiG account of a universal 
deluge is confirmed by the tradition of it, which has 
universally obtained. If such an event has ever hap- 
pened, it is natural to expect that some traces of it will 
be found in the records of pagan nations, as well as in 
those of scripture. Indeed, it is scarcely probable, not 
to say possible, that the knowledge of so great a calam- 
ity should be utterly lost to the rest of the world, and 
be confined to the Jewish nation alone. 

We find, however, that this is by no means the case. 
A tradition of the deluge, in many respects accurately 



162 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

coinciding with the Mosaic account of it, has been pre- 
served almost universally among the ancient nations. 
And the further we go back, the more vivid the traces 
appear. The reverse of this would happen, if the 
whole were originally a fable. The history would not 
only be less evidently diffused; but the more remote 
our researches, the less light we should obtain; and 
however we might strain our sight, the objects would 
by degrees grow faint, and the scene would terminate 
in clouds and darkness. Besides, there would not have 
been that correspondence and harmony in the traditions 
of different nations, which so plainly subsisted among 
them. Now this could not be the result of chance, but 
must necessarily have arisen from the same history 
being universally acknowledged. These evidences are 
derived to us from people who are of different ages and 
countries, and, in consequence, widely separated from 
each other. And what is extraordinary, they did not 
know, in many instances, the purport of the data which 
they transmitted, nor the value and consequence of 
their intelligence. In their mythology they adhered to 
the letter, without considering the meaning; and ac- 
quiesced in the hieroglyphic, though they were stran- 
gers to .the purport of it. With respect to ourselves, it 
is a happy circumstances, not only that the histories 
have been transmitted to us, but also that, after an inter- 
val of so long a date, we should be able to see into the 
hidden mystery, and from these crude materials to 
obtain such satisfactory truths. 

We now proceed to notice a few of the most striking 
of these traditional narratives. 

Berosus, the Chaldean historian, following the most 



AtTHENTlClTY OF CHRISTIANITY. W$ 

ancient writings, as Josephus affirms, has related the 
same things as Moses, of the deluge, and of mankind 
perishing in it ; and likewise the ark in which Nockus, 
the restorer of the human race, was preserved, being 
carried to the summit of the Armenian mountains. 

Hieronymus, the Egyptian, who wrote the antiqui- 
ties of the Phoenecians, Nicholus of Demascus, and 
many others, mention these things, as Josephus also 
testifies. 

Further : there is a fragment preserved by Abyden- 
rus, an ancient Assyrian historian, in which mention 
is made of the deluge being foretold, before it happened, 
and of the birds being sent forth three different times 
to see whether the earth was dried, and of the ark being 
driven into Armenia. He and others agree with Moses 
in the main circumstances ; bat in lesser particulars 
sometimes adulterate the truth with fabulor.s mixtures* 
Alexander Polyhistor, another ancient historian, is cited 
by Cyril of Alexandria, together with Abydenus, and 
both to the same purpose. 

He says, that in the reign of Xisuthrus, (the same as 
Noah,) was the great deluge; that Xisuthrus was sav- 
ed — Saturn having predicted to him what should happen, 
and that he ought to build an ark, and together with the 
fowls, and creeping things, and cattle, to sail in it. 

Among the Greeks, Plato mentions the great deluge? 
in which the cities were destroyed, and useful arts were 
lost; and suggests that there was a great and univeral 
deluge before the particular inundations celebrated by 
the Grecians. He plainly thought that there had been 
several deluges, but one greater than the rest. More- 
over, it was the tradition of the Egyptians, as Diodorus 



164 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

informs us, that most living creatures perished in the 
deluge, which was in Deucalion's time. Ovid's des- 
cription of Deucalion's flood,* is so striking, that it is 
difficult to lose sight of its identity with Noah's flood, 
described by Moses. 

Plutarch, in his treatise on the sagacity of animals, 
observes that a dove was sent out by Deucalion, which 
entering into the ark again, was a sign of serene 
weather. Homer, also, plainly alludes to the particu- 
lar of the rainbow, by calling it a sign, or token, to 
men. 

Lucian mentions more than once the deluge in Deu- 
calion's time, and the ark which preserved the small 
remnant of human kind. He describes, also, the parti- 
culars of Deucalion's flood, after the example of Noah's 
flood. "The present race of men was not the first; 
but the former generation was all destroyed. This 
second race sprang from Deucalion. The former was 
a wicked and profligate generation; for which reason 
this great calamity befell them. The earth gave forth 
abundance of water ; great showers of rain fell ; and 
the rivers increased, and the sea swelled to such a de- 
gree that all things were water, and all men perished. 
Deucalion alone was left for a second generation, on 
account of his prudence and piety ; and he was pre- 
served in this manner: He built a great ark, and enter- 
ed into it, with his wife and children; and to him, swine 
and horses, and lions, and serpents, and all other 
creatures which the earth maintains, came in pairs. 
He received them all, and they hurt him not. On the 

* See Davidson and Clark's translation of Ovid. 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 165 

contrary, there was by divine instinct great friendship 
among them, and they sailed all together in the same 
ark, as long as the water prevailed." 

At the beginning and in the conclusion, he professes 
to have received this account from the Grecians, so 
that he cannot be suspected of borrowing it from the 
scriptures. 

The orthodox among the ancient Persians, believed 
in a deluge, and that it was universal, and everwhelmed 
the whole earth. Similar traditions have prevailed in 
the East among the Hindoos, Burmans, and Chinese: 
Of these, the tradition of the Chinese is particularly 
worthy of note, as it not only refers, both directly and 
indirectly, to the deluge itself, but also to the cause of it. 
The same tradition of a general flood is also to be traced 
-among the ancient Goths and Druids, as well as among 
the Mexicans, Peruvians, Brazilians, and Nicaraguans; 
to whom may be added the inhabitants of Western 
Caledonia, the Otaheiteans before their conversion to 
Christianity, and also the Sandwich Islanders. 

The Mosaic account of the deluge is also confirmed 
by a coin struck at Apamea in the reign of Philip the 
elder.* On the reverse of this medal is represented 
a kind of square chest, floating upon the waters: a 
man and a woman are advancing out of it, to dry land, 
while two other persons remain within. Above it, 
flutters a dove, bearing an olive branch; and another 
bird, possibly a raven, is perched upon its roof. In 
one ot the front pannels of the chest, is the word Xoe, 

*Philip was the father of Alexander the great, and was 
murdered in the 47th year of his age, and 2 4th year of his 
reign, before Christ about 336 years. 



168 AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 

in ancient Greek characters. From these various 
evidences it is manifest, that the heathens were well 
acquainted with all the various circumstances of the 
universal deluge; that their traditions (though largely 
blended with fable) bear a striking resemblance to the 
narrative of Moses; and that the moral certainty of that 
great event is established on a basis sufficiently firm to 
bid defiance to the cavils of skepticism. 

Instead, therefore, of asserting (as it has been con- 
trary to all the evidence furnished by natural and civil 
history) that we have no sufficient evidence to induce 
us to believe that the deluge ever took place — let the 
ingenuity of unbelief first account satisfactorily for 
this unusual agreement of the Pagan world. She may 
then, with a greater degree of plausibility, impeach the 
truth of the scriptural narrative of the deluge. 

"To establish the assertion/*' says Mr. Taylor, "that 
Deity has condescended to make known his intentions 
to man, he invites reasoners against revelation to 
investigate the instance of Noah. Was the deluge, he 
asks, a real occurrence? All mankind acknowledge it 
Wherever tradition has been maintained, wherever 
written records are presented, wherever commemo- 
rative rites have been instituted, what has been their 
subject? The deluge, deliverance from destruction by 
a flood. The savage and the sage agree in this: North 
and South, East and West, relate the danger of their 
great ancestor from overwhelming waters. But he was 
saved: and how? By personal exertion? By long 
supported swiming? By concealment in the highest 
mountains? No: but by enclosure in a large floating 
edifice of his own construction — his own construction 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 167 

for this particular purpose. But this labor was long; 
this was not the work of a day; he must have for eknown 
so astonishing an event, a considerable time previous 
to its actual occurrence. Whence did he receive this 
knoicledge? Did the earth inform him, that at twenty, 
thirty, or forty years distance, it would disgorge a flood* 1 
Surely not. Did the stars announce that they would 
dissolve the terrestrial atmosphere in terrific rains? 
•Surely not Whence then had he this foreknowledge? 
Did he begin to build when the showers first descended I 
This was too late. Had he been accustomed to rains 
formerly — why think them now of importance? Had 
he never seen rain — what could induce him to provide 
-against it? Why this year more than last year? Why 
last year more than the year before? These inquiries 
are direct: we cannot flinch from the fact. Erase it 
from the Mosaic words; still it is recorded in Greece, 
in India, and in Britian; it is registered in the very 
sacra of the pagan world; and is annually renewed by 
commemorative imitation, where the liberty of opinion 
is not fettered by prejudices derived from Hebrew insti- 
tutions, or by the "sophisticated" inventions of Chris- 
tianity. "Go, infidel,"' he adds, "turn to the right hand, 
or to the left; take your choice of difficulties : disparage 
all mankind as fools, as willing dupes to superstitious 
commemoration, as leagued throughout the world to 
delude themselves in order to impugn your wisdom, 
your just thinking, your love of truth, your unbiased 
integrity; or allow that this fact, at least this one fact, 
is established by testimony abundantly sufficient; but 
remember, that if it be established, it implies a commit 
nl cat iuii from Goo to man. Who could inform Noah? 
P 



168 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

Why did not that great patriarch provide against 
fire? against earthquakes? against explosions? Why 
against a deluge? Why against water? Away with 
subterfuge. Say frankly this was the dictation of 
Deity; say, 'only He who made the world could predict 
the time, the means, the cause of this devastation; only 
He could excite the hope of restoration, or suggest a 
method of deliverance.' Use your own language; but 
permit an humble believer to adopt language already 
recorded: 'By faith, Noah being learned of God, of 
things never seen as yet, in pious fear , prepared the Ark 
to the saving of his family, by which he condemned the 
world.' May a similar condemnation never rest on us, 
who must at least admit the truth of one text in the 
Bible, or stand convicted by the united voice of all 
mankind, and by the testimony of the earth, the now 
shattered earth itself. " 

2. The departure of the Israelites from Egypt, under 
the command of Moses, is confirmed by Justin, a heathen 
historian. In his history of the Jewish nation, he tells 
us that some time after the birth of Moses, "The 
Egyptians had the leprosy amongst them; that upon 
consulting their oracle for a cure, they were directed to 
send away all their infected persons out of the land, 
under the conduct of Moses. Moses undertook the 
command of them, and at his leaving Egypt, stole away 
the Egyptian Sacra. The Egyptians pursued them in 
order to recover their Sacra, but were compelled by 
storms to return home again. Moses, in seven days, 
passed the desert of Arabia, and brought the people to 
Sinai.' 5 

This account, is indeed short, imperfect and full of 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 169 

mistakes ; but so are the heathen accounts of Jews 
and their affairs. This is in consequence of their not 
making a true inquiry into their history. Yet there are 
many things related of them, that perfectly correspond 
with the Jewish history recorded in the Old Testament. 
Had more pains been taken by Justin, in examining the 
Jewish history, a more correct and particular account 
would have been given by him. Yet, he has said 
enough to confirm the truth of this part of sacred 
history. 

We, however, may add to this the following curious 
Egyptian traditions, preserved by an ancient writer, 
Artapanus, who wrote a history of the Jews, about 
one hundred and thirty years before Christ. 

" The Memphites relate, that Moses, being well ac- 
quainted with the country, watched the influx of the 
tide, and made the multitude pass through the dry bed 
of the sea. But the Heliopolitans relate, that the King, 
with a great army, accompanied by the sacred animals, 
pursued the Jews, who had carried off with them the 
substance of the Egyptians ; and that Moses having 
been directed by a divine voice to strike the sea with 
his rod, when he heard it, touched the water with his 
rod; and so the fluid divided, and the host passed over 
through a dry way. But when the Egyptians, entered 
along with them, and pursued them, it is said that fire 
flashed against them in front, and the sea, returning 
back, overwhelmed the passage. Thus the Egyptians 
perished, both by fire, and by the reflux of the tide." 

The latter account is extremely curious. It not only 
confirms scripture; but it notices three additional cir- 
cumstances. 1. That for their protection against the 



170 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

God of Israel, the Egyptians brought with them the 
sacred animals; and by this means God executed judg* 
ment upon all the bestial gods of Egypt, as foretold, 
Ex. xii, 12, that perished with their infatuated votaries; 
completing the destruction of both, which began with 
smiting the first born both of man and beast. 2. That 
the recovery of the jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, 
and raiment, which they asked and obtained of the 
Egyptians, according to the divine command, Ex. xii: 
35, 36, was a leading motive of the Egyptians to 
pursue them; as the bringing back the Israelites to 
slavery had been with Pharoah and hrs servants, or 
officers.. 3. Thait the destruction of the Egyptians was 
partly occasioned by lightning and thunderbolts from 
the presence of the Lord; exactly corresponding to the 
Psalmist's sublime description: "The waters saw thee> 
O God, the waters saw thee, they were afraid: the 
depths also were troubled. The clouds poured out 
water, the air thundered, thine arrows went abroad. 
Yea, he sent out his arrows and scattered them; he 
shot forth lightnings, hailstones, and coals of fire, and 
discomfitted them. Then the channels of water were 
seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered, 
at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of thy 
nostrils." 

3. The narrative of the invasion of the kingdom of 
Israel by Shalmaneser, King of Assyria, and of the 
carrying of the ten tribes into captivity, which is related 
in 2 Kings xvii: 6, xviii. 10, is confirmed by certain 
ancient sculptures, on the mountain of Be-Sitoon, near 
the borders of the ancient Assyria. For the knowledge 
of tfeese antiquities we are indebted to the persevering 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 171 

researches of Sir Rober Kerr Porter, by whom they 
were first discovered and who, after discovering them 
says: — "The design of this sculpture appears to 
tally so well with the great event of the total conquest 
over Isreal, by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, and the 
Medes, that I venture to suggest the possibility of this 
bas-relief having been made to commemorate that final 
achievement. Certain circumstances attending the 
entire captivity of the ten tribes, which took place in 
the second attack on their nation, when considered, 
seem to confirm the conjecture into a strong probability/' 
4. The account of the war, carried on by Pharaoh 
Necho against the Jews and Babylonians, (which is 
related in the second book of Chronicles,) is confirmed 
by the testimony of the Greek historian, Herodotus, 
and especially by the recent discoveries of the enter- 
prising traveller, M. Belzoni, among the tombs of the 
Egyptian sovereigns. The following is the narrative 
of the sacred historian in 2 Chron. xxxv. 20 — 24. 

"After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, 
Necho, King of Egypt, came up to fight against Char- 
chemish by Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him. 
But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, what have I 
to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against 
thee this day, but against the house wherewith I have 
war: for God commanded me to make haste: forbear 
thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he 
destroy thee not. Nevertheless, Josiah would not turn 
his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might 
fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of 
Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the 
valley of Megiddo. 



172 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

"And the archers shot at king Josiah; and the king 
said to his servants, have me away; for I am sorely 
wounded. His servants therefore took him out of that 
chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had; 
and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died, and 
wa3 buried in one of the sepulchers of his fathers. 
And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. " And 
again, xxxvi. 1 — 4. "Then the people of the land took 
Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah, and made him king in his 
father's stead in Jerusalem. Jehoahaz was twenty and 
three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 
three months in Jerusalem. And the king of Egypt 
put him down at Jerusalem, and condemned the land 
in a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 

"And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother 
king over Judah and Jerusalem, and turned his name 
to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother, 
and carried him into Egypt." 

These passages prove the power and conquests of 
Pharaoh Necho ; and if we turn to Herodotus, we shall 
find a wonderful agreement with many of the particu- 
lars. " Now, Necos was the son of Psammeticus, and 
reigned over Egypt ; it was he who began the canals, 
&c. ; and he employed himself in war-like pursuits, 
building galleys, both on the Mediterranean and on the 
Red Sea, the traces of his dockyards still existing; 
and these he used when lie had occasion for them : and 
Necos joined battle with the Syrians and conquered 
them, and after the battle, he took Cadytis, a large 
city of Syria. And having reigned, in the whole, six- 
teen years, he died and left the throne to his son Psam- 
mis." Cadytis is again mentioned by this historian, as 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 173 

belonging to the Syrians of Palestine ; and as a city 
not less than Sardis — so that there is no doubt that he 
intended Jerusalem, which (it is well known) was some- 
times called Kadesh or Holy. 

We now come to the researches of M. Belzoni, in 
the tomb of Psammethis or Psammis, the son of Pharaoh 
Necho. 

44 In one of the numerous apartments of this vener- 
able monument of ancient art, there is a sculptured 
group, describing the march of a military and triumphal 
procession with three different sets of prisoners, who 
are evidently Jews, Ethiopians, and Persians. The 
procession begins with four red men with white kirtles, 
followed by a hawk- headed divinity : these are Egyp- 
tians, apparently released from captivity, and returning 
home under the protection of the national deity. Then 
follow four white men in striped and fringed kirtles, 
with black beards, and with a simple white fillet round 
their black hair : these are obviously Jews, and might 
be taken for the portraits of these who at this day walk 
the streets of London. After them came the men 
with smaller beards and curled whiskers, with double 
spreading plumes on their heads, tattoed, and wearing 
robes or mantles, spotted like the skins of wild beasts; 
these are Persians or Chaldeans. Then lastly came 
four negroes with large circular ear-rings, and white 
dresses supported by a belt over the shoulders; these 
are Etheopians.*' 

Among the hieroglyphics contained in Bebzoni's 

• drawings of this tomb, Dr. Young, (Secretary to the 

Royal Society) who is pre-eminantly distinguished for 

his successful researches in archaiology has succeeded 



174 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

in discovering the names of Nichoa (the Necho of the 
scriptures, and Necos of Herodotus) and of Psammethis. 

5. The truth of Shishak's victory over Rehoboam, as 
related in 2 Chron. xii., has lately received a most re- 
markable confirmation. One of the great palaces of 
the Egyptian kings, at Karnac, was partly built by 
Shishak, or, as the Egyptians called him, Sheshonk ; 
and on one of the walls, which is standing, Cham- 
pollion, in his visit to Thebes, in 1828, discovered a 
piece of sculpture representing the victories of this 
Pharaoh, who is dragging the chiefs of thirty conquered 
nations to the idols worshiped at Thebes. Among the 
captives is one, the hieroglyphics upon whose shield 
contain the words, "Joudaba Malek," which means 
king of Judah. The figure, therefore, represents Re- 
hoboam, the only Jewish king vanquished by Shishak ; 
and thus, after the lapse of two thousand eight hundred 
years, we have the unexceptionable testimony of an 
enemy to the faithfulness of scripture history. 

6. Lastly, the triumphal arch erected at Rome, by 
the Senate and Roman people, in honor of the emperor 
Titus, (which structure is still subsisting, though greatly 
damaged by the ravages of time,) is an undeniable evi- 
dence of the truth of the historic accounts which describe 
the dissolution of the Jewish state and government, and 
also relate the conquest of Jerusalem. This edifice 
likewise corroborates the description of certain vessels 
used by the Jews in their religious worship. In this 
arch are still distinctly to be seen, the golden candle- 
stick, the table of shew-bread, with a cup upon it, and 
the trumpets which were used to proclaim the year of 
Jubilee. And there are extant several medals of Judea 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 175 

vanquished, in which the conquered country is repre- 
sented as a desolate female, sitting under a tree, and 
which afford an extraordinary fulfilment of Isaiah's 
prediction, (Isa. iii: 26,) delivered at least eight hundred 
years before, as well as a striking illustration of the 
first verse of the Lamentations of Jeremiah. 

These illustrations and confirmations are sufficient to 
establish the truth of the Old Testament history, with 
candid inquirers after truth; we shall, therefore — 

II. Give some similar testimony to confirm the history 
of the gospel. 

1. There have been lately discovered in India, certain 
Shanscrit writings containing testimonies of Christ. 
They relate to a Brinee, who reigned about the period 
of the Christian era, and whose history, though mixed 
with fable, contains particulars which correspond, in a 
surprising manner, with the advent, birth, miracles, 
death, and resurrection of our Saviour. The event 
mentioned in Matt, ii: 2, is exactly recorded, namely — 
" that certain holy men, directed by a star, journeyed 
toward the west, where they beheld the incarnation of 
the Deity ;" and this testimony of the Hindoo writer 
accords with that of Chalcidius, the ancient commen- 
tator on Plato, who adds, " that the infant Majesty being 
found, the wise men worshiped, and gave gifts suitable 
to so great a God." The important Hindoo records 
referred to above, have been translated by Mr. Wilford, 
a learned Orientalist, and has deposited the originals 
among the archives of the Asiatic Society. 

2. The ancient Romans were particularly careful to 
preserve the memory of all the remarkable events 
which happened in the city; and this was done either in 



176 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

their Acts of the Senate, or in the Dally Acts of the 
People, which were diligently made and kept at Rome. 
In like manner, it was customary for the governors of 
provinces to send to the emperor an account of remark- 
able transactions that occurred in the places where 
they resided, which were preserved as the acts of their 
respective governments. In conformity with this usage, 
Pilate kept memoirs of the Jewish affairs, during his 
procuratorship, which were therefore called Acta Pilati. 
Referring to this usage, Eusebius says, " Our Saviour's 
resurrection being much talked of throughout Palestine, 
Pilate informed the emperor of it, as likewise of his 
miracles, of which he bad heard ; and that, being 
raised up after he had been put to death, he was already 
believed by many to be a god." These accounts were 
never published for general perusal, but were deposited 
among the archives of the empire, where they served 
as a fund of information to historians. Hence we find, 
long before the time of Eusebius, that the primitive 
Christians, in their disputes with the Gentiles, appealed 
to these acts of Pilate, as to most undoubted testimony. 
Thus Justin Martyr, in his first apology for the Chris- 
tians, which was presented to the emperor Antonius 
Pius and the Senate of Rome about the year 140, having 
mentioned the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and some of 
its attendant circumstances, adds, "And that these 
things were so done, you may know from the Acts 
made in the time of Pontius Pilate." 

Afterwards, in the same apology, having noticed 
some of our Lord's miracles, such as healing diseases 
and raising the dead, he says, "And that these things 
were done by him, you may know from the Acts made 
in the time of Pontius Pilate." 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 177 

3. We have already shown that the learned Tertul- 
lian, who, in his apology for Christianity, tells us that 
Tiberius, being convinced of Christ's divinity, proposed 
to the Senate that he should be enrolled among the 
Roman gods, and gave his own vote in favor of the 
motion. And we may add, that after speaking of 
Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, and his appear- 
ance to the disciples, who were ordained to publish the 
gospel over the world, he thus proceeds : "Of all these 
things relating to Christ, Pilate himself, in his con- 
science already a Christian, sent an account to Tibe- 
rius, the emperor " 

These testimonies of Justin and Tertullian are taken 
from public apologies for the christian religion, which 
were presented either to the emperor and senate of 
Rome, or to the magistrates of public authority and 
great distinction in the Roman empire. 

Now it is incredible that such writers would have 

made such appeals, especially to the very person in 

whose custody these monuments were, had they not 

been fully satisfied of their existence and contents. 

m 

4. Suetonius, a Roman historian, who flourished in 

the reign of the emperor Trajan, A. D. 116, refers to 
Christ when he says, that "Claudius Ca-sar expelled the 
Jews from Rome, because they raised continual tumults 
at the instigation of Christ, who, it is well known, was 
sometimes called Christus, and his disciples Christians. 
This event took place A. D. 52. 

5. Tacitus, the historian, who also flourished under 
Trajan, A. D. 110, and contemporary with the apostles, 
when writing the history of Nero, Claudius'" successor, 



178 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

and speaking of Christians, A. D. 64, says that " The 
author of that sect (or name) was Christns, who in the 
reign of Tiberius was punished with death, as a crim- 
inal, by the procurator, Pontius Pilate." 

And the younger Pliny, in his celebrated letter to 
Trajan, written A. D. 107, says that Jesus was wor- 
shiped by his followers as God. "They sing among 
themselves, alternately, a hymn to Christ as God." In 
this letter, Pliny also says, that the Christians bound 
themselves by an oath, not to commit any wickedness ; 
that he had examined some of them by torture, partic- 
ularly two maid-servants called ministers, or deacon- 
esses, and discovered no fault in them but an evil and 
excessive superstition, the contagion of which had 
seized towns, cities, and the open country. He assured 
Trajan that " a great number of persons" professing 
Christianity, " were in danger of suffering: for many, 
of all ages and every rank, of both sexes, likewise, 
were accused." 

This letter, in connection with the emperor's reply, 
which was written in the same year, furnish important 
testimony to the state of Christianity, and to the purity 
of christian principles. They attest the innocence, 
fortifude^jsind virtue of the first Christians. From the 
former, it is evident that no crime, besides that of their 
religion, was proved against any of those who were 
brought before Pliny ; that they tenaciously worshiped 
Christ as God ; and that in a short space of time — not 
eighty years after the crucifixion, nor seventy after the 
disciples of Jesus began to make any mention of him 
to the Gentiles — Christians had circulated themselves 
throughout the province of Pliny, in cities, villages, and 



AUTftENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 179 

in the open country, which proves that Christianity had 
been planted there long before his arrival. 

6. Porphyry, A. D. 270, acknowledges that Christians 
were very numerous in the Roman empire, and unwil- 
lingly admits the miracles wrought by the apostles — 
which, however, he ascribes to the magic art ; and he 
endeavors to expose them to popular reproach, by insin- 
uating that they were the causes of the calamities that 
befell the Roman empire. He not only allowed that 
there was such a person as Jesus Christ, but also hon- 
ored him as a pious person, who was conveyed into 
heaven, as being approved by the gods. 

Julian, A. D. 361, though he endeavors to lessen the 
.number of the early believers in Jesus, yet is con- 
strained to acknowledge that there were multitudes of 
such men in Greece and Italy, before John wrote his 
gospel, and that they were not confined to the lower 
classes. Men of character, such as Cornelius, a Roman 
centurion at Cesarea, and Sergius Paulus, proconsul of 
Cyprus, being converted to the christian faith, before 
the end of Claudius' reign, (who ascended the imperial 
throne A. D. 41, and died A. D. 54,) and he frequently 
speaks, with much indignation, of Peter and Paul, those 
two great apostles of Jesus, and successful preachers 
of the gospel. So that, upon the whole, the apostate 
Julian has undesignedly borne testimony to the truth of 
many things recorded in the New Testament. He 
aimed to overthrow the christian religion, but has con- 
firmed it. He acknowledges that Jesus had a sovereign 
power over impure spirits ; that he walked on the sur- 
face of the deep, and expelled demons. He endeavored 
to depreciate these wonderful works, but in vain. His 
Q 



180 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

arguments against the christian religion are perfectly 
harmless, and insufficient to unsettle the weakest chris- 
tian; for he has not made one objection of any moment 
against Christianity, as contained in the genuine and 
authentic books of the New Testament. 

7. Celsus, one of the bitterest antagonists of Chris- 
tianity, who wrote in the latter part of the second cen- 
tury, speaks of the founder of Christianity, as having 
lived but a few years before his time; and mentions the 
principal facts of the gospel history relative to Jesus 
Christ, declaring that he had copied the account from the 
writings of the evangelists. 

He quotes these books, and makes extracts from 
them, as being composed by the apostles and companions 
of Jesus, and under the names which they now bear 
He takes notice particularly of his incarnation ; his 
being born of a virgin ; his being worshiped by the 
magi ; his flight into Egypt, and the slaughter of infants. 
He speaks of Christ's baptism by John ; of the descent 
of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, and of the 
vOice from heaven declaring him to be the Son of God; 
of his being accounted a prophet by his disciples, who 
worshiped him ; and notices all the circumstances 
attending the crucifixion of Christ, and his appearing to 
his disciples afterwards. He frequently alludes to the 
Holy Spirit; mentions God under the title of the Most 
High ; and speaks collectively of the Father, Son, and 
Holy Spirit. He acknowledges the miracles wrought 
by Jesus Christ, by which he engaged multitudes to ad- 
here to him as the Messiah ; but ascribes them to the 
magic art, which (he says) Christ learned in Egypt. 

8. Lucian, the contemporary of Celsus, though a 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 181 

bitter enemy of the Christians, in his account of the 
philosopher Perigrinus, bears authentic testimony to 
the principles of Christianity — that its founder was cru- 
cified in Palestine, and worshiped by the Christians, 
who entertained peculiarly strong hopes of immortal 
life, and great contempt for the world and its enjoy- 
ments ; and that they courageously endured many 
afflictions on account of their principles, and sometimes 
surrendered themselves to sufferings. Honesty and 
probity prevailed among them to such an extent, tha* 
they trusted each other without security. Their Master 
had earnestly recommended to all his followers mutual 
love, by which also they were much distinguished. In 
his piece, entitled Alexander or Pseudomantis, he says, 
that they were well known in the world by the name of 
Christians ; that they were at that time numerous in 
Pontus, Paphlagonia, and the neighboring countries ; 
and finally that they were formidable to cheats and 
impostors. There are also numerous allusions to the 
writings, principles, and practices of ancient Christians, 
in the dialogue entitled Philopatrics, which, 0l not written 
by Lucian himself, to whom it is usually ascribed, was 
composed not long after his time. 

9. The fortitude and constancy of Christians under 
persecution, are referred to by Epictetus, A. D. 109, 
under the name of Gallileans. The emperor, Marcus 
Antonius, A. D. 161, mentions the Christians as exam- 
ples of obstinate contempt of death. And Galen, A. D. 
200, acknowledges the constancy of Christians in their 
principles. 

10. Publius Lentilius, in a letter to the Senate of 
Rome, describes the person of Jesus Christ in the fol- 



182 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

lowing manner: " He was a man of tall stature, a very 
comely and reverend countenance: such as may be both 
feared and loved. His hair, of the hue of a ripe 
chesnut, plain down to the ears, below more orient and 
curling, waves about the shoulders, and forked in the 
middle — forehead delicate and plain — face without spot 
or wrinkle, and of a lovely red — nose and mouth without 
blemish — beard thick, not long, but forked — his look 
innocent and mature — eyes grey, clear, and quick — 
terrible in reproving, in admonishing courteous, and 
fair spoken — pleasant in converse, mixed with gravity. 
None have seen him laugh, but many have seen him 
weep. Excellently proportioned in body, hands and 
arms, most delectable to behold. He raiseth the dead, 
and cureth all manner of diseases." 

11. Josephus, the Jewish historian, in a passage of 
his Jewish Antiquities, which the opposers of Christian- 
ity (unable to resist its force) have, contrary to all 
evidence, affirmed to be spurious, bears the following 
testimony to the character, miracles, and doctrines of 
Jesus Christ. After relating a sedition of the Jews 
against Pontius Pilate, which the latter had quelled, he 
says: " Now there was about this time, Jesus, a wise 
man, if it be lawful to call him a man: for he performed 
many wonderful works. He was a teacher of such as 
received the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him 
many of the Jews, and also many of the Gentiles. 
This was the Christ. And when Pilate, at the sugges- 
tion of the principal men among us, had condemned 
him to the cross, those who had loved him from the 
first did not cease to adhere to him. For he appeared 
to them, alive again, on the third day ; the divine proph- 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 153 

els having foretold these and ten thousand other things 
concerning him. And the tribe (or sect) of Christians, 
so named from him, subsists to this time/' 

12. The Talmuds,* though blended with much false- 
hood and malicious insinuations against Jesus Christ, 
refer to his nativity; relate his journey into Egypt ; and 
do not deny that he performed numerous eminent mir- 
acles. In this work it is acknowledged that the disciples 
of Jesus had the power of working miracles, and the 
gift of healing in the name of their Master; and several 
of their names are mentioned. 

In a much later work of the Jews, called the " Tole- 
doth Jesu/ ? Christ's power of raising the dead, and 
healing leprous persons, is repeatedly acknowledged. 

13. The eclipse at the time of our Saviour's death, 
recorded in the New Testament, has been proved to 
have taken place, and to be a deviation from the ordinary 
course of nature. All eclipses of the sun happen at 
the new moon ; but this happened at the full, when the 
passover was celebrated. And the eclipse at our Sav- 
iour's death lasted three hours, or from the sixth to the 
ninth hour, (meaning from mid-day till three in the 
afternoon,) whereas no ordinary eclipse can occasion 
total darkness over any place for more than a few 
minutes ; because the eclipse is occasioned by the body 
of the moon being in a strait line between that place and 
the sun, and the body of the sun is so much larger than 

*The Talmuds are composed of a collection of Jewish 
traditions, called MUHma, or text, and Gemara, that is, 
perfection, or commentary. These traditions were com- 
mitted to writing about the middle of the second century, 
by Rabbi Jehudah. 

Q* 



184 AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 

that of the moon, that the shadow of the moon cannot 
occasion a total darkness on any one place for any 
length of time. 

In both these respects, then, that eclipse was extra- 
ordinary. There being so many difficulties in believing 
that the eclipse was a natural one, that a rational in- 
quirer will discard the idea of the moon being the 
cause of the darkness ; and ascribe it to the immediate 
agency of God in darkening the atmosphere, that while 
thoughtless men beheld the sufferings of Christ with 
indifference, nature herself might put on mourning. 
The darkness was not confined to Judea, for we read of 
a heathen philosopher in a distant land, who, on seeing 
it, and knowing that it could not be occasioned by an 
eclipse, exclaimed, "either the God of nature suffers, 
or the frame of the world is dissolving !" 

Phlegon, a native of Tralles in Lydia, author of 
some historical Tracts, under Adrian, informs us, that 
in the 202d Olympiad, or 4764th year of the Julian 
period, there was an eclipse, the same as this mentioned 
here, which could be no other than this — for an ordi- 
nary one never totally hides the sun from any one part 
of the earth above four minutes. Besides it must have 
been miraculous, because no eclipse ever happens at 
full moon, it being at that time in the opposite side of 
the heavens. 

Tertullian, in his Apology for the Christians, which 
is addressed to their heathen adversaries, expressly 
says, "At the moment of Christ's death, the light de- 
parted from the sun, and the land was darkened at noon- 
day^-wm'ch wonder is related in your own annals, and 
is preserved in your archives to this day." 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 195 

If the account of this extraordinary darkness had 
not been registered, Tertullian would have exposed both 
himself to the charge of asserting a falsehood, (which 
charge was never brought against him,) and also his 
religion to the ridicule of his enemies. It is further 
particularly worthy of remark, that the darkness and 
earthquake at the crucifixion are both explicitly recog- 
nized and mentioned as facts, by that acute adversary 
of Christianity, Celsus, who would not have made such 
an admission if he could have possibly denied them. 

The concurring testimony of Phlegon, Tertullian, 
and Celsus, is sufficient to establish the history of the 
New Testament concerning this supernatural phenom- 
enon. 

14. Mohammed, who lived in the latter part of the 
fifth, and former part of the sixth century, though he 
assumed the honor of delivering to mankind a new 
revelation, expressly acknowledged the authority of 
the Gospels. He speaks of Jesus Christ and his 
mother, by their names, and calls him the Word of 
God. He says that he was miraculously born of a 
virgin ; acknowledges the truth of his miracles and 
prophecies ; and speaks of his death and ascension ; 
of his apostles ; of the unbelief of the Jews ; of Zach- 
ariah, the father of John the Baptist, and of the Baptist 
himself — describing his character perfectly conformable 
to the Gospels. 

15. In the " Shepherd," or " Pastor/' of Hermas, 
published A. D. 100, there are several expressions so 
closely resembling the style and sentiments of the 
Apocalypse, as to render it more than probable that he 
had read and imitated this book. The allusions of this 



188 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

father sufficiently show that he held the Apocalypse, 
and other books of the New Testament with very high 
respect. 

Ignatius, A. D. 107, and Polycarp, A. D. 140, were 
acquainted with the Apocalypse, and the latter cited it 
once in the only epistle of his that has come down to 
our times. And the pious and sublime prayer which 
this holy man uttered at the awful moment when the 
flames were about to be kindled around him, begins 
with the identical words of the elders, in Rev. xi: IT. 
11 We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which 
art, and wast, and art to come, because thou hast taken 
to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. " There is 
likewise strong reason to believe that it was received 
byPapias, A. D. 116. 

Thus do both friends and enemies of Christianity, 
from its origin to its complete establishment in the 
known world, in the fourth century, unite in giving an 
honorable testimony to the character of Christ, to the 
reality of his miracles, to the genuineness, authenticity, 
and credibility of the New Testament, and the wide 
and rapid progress of the christian religion. 

That many profane writers, have been entirely silent 
concerning many important articles of scripture history, 
we acknowledge ; but their silence can easily be ac- 
counted for by the following facts. 1. Many books of 
those remote ages are lost, in which it is very possible 
that some mention might have been made of these facts. 
2. Some of the Roman historians, whose works have 
come down to our time are defective. 3. Of the few 
remaining historians who wrote about the ages in ques- 
tion, mostly were engaged on other subjects ; to which 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 187 

it is to be added, that no profane historians, whether 
Jews or heathens, take notice of all occurrences. 
4. Several of the facts relating to Christ and his mira- 
cles, coming from Jews, would be slighted as fabulous 
by the Gentile writers, especially considering, on the 
one hand, how common prodigies and magical stories 
were in that day ; and on the other hand, how super- 
stitious and credulous the Jews were reputed to be. 
Their silence, therefore, is as strong a proof as their 
express testimony could have been. Upon the whole, 
we may venture boldly to assert, that even if this fact 
be destitute of support from profane writers, it is a 
deficiency which may easily be dispensed with. 

We believe many things upon the evidence of one 
credible witness, why not believe upon the testimony of 
concurring nations ? divided, indeed, among them- 
selves, in other particulars, but all uniting to confirm 
the truth of the facts related in the gospel : and there- 
fore, even though the christian institution had perished 
with the apostles, and there were not in the world at 
this day, so much as one Christian, we should have 
the most unquestionable evidence that the persons and 
actions recorded in the gospel, and attested by the con- 
curring voice of all nations, really existed in the coun- 
try of Judea, during the reign of Tiberius, as the evan- 
gelists have assured us. 

16. We shall now add the testimony of a few other 
coins and medals, to the truth and faithfulness of the 
history of the New Testament. 

In Acts, xiii. 7, the Evangelist Luke, relating the 
travels and actions of Paul, in Cyprus, gives to Sergius 
Paulus, the Roman governor of that island, the Greek 



183 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

title of Anthupatas, which was applied only to those 
governors of provinces, who were invested with pro- 
consular dignity. And on the supposition that Cyprus 
was not a province of this description, it has been in- 
ferred that the title given to Sergius Paulus in the Acts 
of the Apostles, was a title that did not properly belong 
to him. A passage, indeed, has been quoted from Dion 
Cassius, who, speaking of the governors of Cyprus, 
and some other Roman provinces, applies to them the 
same title which is applied to Sergius Paulus. But as 
Dion Cassius is speaking of several Roman provinces 
at the same time, one of which was certainly governed 
by a proconsul, it has been supposed, that for the sake 
of brevity, he used one term for all of them, whether 
it applied to all of them or not. That Cyprus, however, 
ought not to be excepted, and that the title which he em- 
ployed as well as St. Luke, really did belong to the 
Roman governors of Cyprus, appears from the inscrip- 
tion on a coin belonging to Cyprus itself and struck in 
the very age in which Sergius Paulus was governor of 
that island. It was struck in the reign of Claudius 
Csesar, whose head and name are on the face of it; 
and in the reign of Claudius Csesar, Paul visited Cy- 
prus. It was a coin belonging to the people of that 
island, as appears from the word Kupriown on the 
reverse; and though not struck while Sergius Paulus 
himself was governor, it was struck, as appears from 
the inscription on the reverse, in the time of Proclus, 
who was next to Sergius Paulus in the government of 
that island. And on this coin the same title is given to 
Proclus, which is given by St. Luke to' Sergius Paulus. 
That Cyprus was a proconsulate is also evident from 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 189 

an ancient inscription of Caligula's reign, (the prede- 
cessor of Claudius,) in which Aquius Scaura is called 
the proconsul of Cyprus. 

In Acts xvi, 11, Luke says — u We came to Phillippi, 
which is the chief of that part of Macedonia, and a 
colony/' Or more correctly, "Phillippi, a city of the 
first part of Macedonia/*'" or Macedonia Prima. And is 
an instance of minute accuracy, which shows that the 
author of the Acts of the Apostles actually lived and 
wrote at that time. The province of Macedonia, it is 
well known, however, had undergone various changes, 
and had been divided in various portions, and particu- 
larly four, while under the Roman government. There 
are extant many medals of the first province, or Mace- 
donia Prima, mostly of silver, with the inscription, 
Makedonone Prothecs, or the first part of Macedonia; 
which confirm the accuracy of Luke, and at the same 
time show his attention to the minutest particulars. * 

17. In Acts xvi, 14, we read that Lydia, a dealer in 
purple from Thyatira, had settled at Phillippi. Now it 
is remarkable that among tha ruins of Thyatira, there 
is an inscription extant, with the words Hoi Bapics, (the 
dyers;) whence we learn that the art and trade of dy- 
ing purple were carried on in this city. 

18. In Acts xvii. 23. Paul tells the Athenians that as 
he passed through their city, and beheld the objects of 
worship, he found an altar with this inscription, To 
the unknown God. No altar with this inscription has 
come down to our times; but we know from the express 



* Of this medal there are engravings in the fragments 
annexed t,o Calmet's Dictionary. 



100 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY 

testimony of Lucian that there was such an inscription 
at Athens, And the occasion of this altar being erected, 
in common with many others bearing the same inscrip- 
tion, is thus related by Diogenes Laertius. — "The 
Athenians being afflicted with a pestilence invited 
Epimenides to lustrate their city. The method adopted 
by him was, to carry several sheep to the Areopagus; 
whence they were left to wander as they pleased, under 
the observation of persons sent to attend them. As 
each sheep lay down, it was sacrificed on the spot, to 
the propitious God, By this ceremony, it is said the city 
was relieved, but, as it was still unknown what deity 
was propitious, an altar was erected to the unknoicn 
God on every post where a sheep had been sacrificed." 
This and other public memorials, supply additional proof 
of the correctness of Pauls observations on the Athe- 
nians, that they were too much addicted to the adoption 
of earthly objects for worship and devotion. 

19. In Acts xix. 35, the recording chancellor, or town 
clerk of Cyprus, in order to quell the tumult which had 
been raised there, by Demetrius and his workmen, who 
gained their livelihood by making silver shrines or 
models of the temple of Diana in that city, says to the 
Ephesians. What man is there that knoweth not how 
that the city of the Ephesians is a worshiper of the 
great goddess of Diana? Beside other testimony there 
is now extant at Cyprus, an ancient Greek inscription, 
on a slab of white marble, which not only confirms the 
general history related in Acts xix. but even approaches 
to several sentiments and phrases which occur in that 
chapter. 

It would not be difficult to adduce additional testimo- 



AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 191 

riles from medals and inscriptions, which have been 
collected and described by various learned modern 
travelers/ who have explored Greece and Asia Minor, 
but the production of farther testimony of this kind is 
unnecessary. 

Stronger proof than that already produced, it is 
impossible to bring, for the credulity of any fact 
recorded in history — even of the important transac- 
tions which have taken place in our own days on the 
continent of America, and to which our own nation has 
been a party. 

Do not the above medals, coins, and ancient mar- 
bles, present as much collateral testimony to the truth 
of the facts recorded by the sacred historians, as the 
11 Waterloo medals, " distributed by order of Parliament, 
do to the truth of the victory of Waterloo obtained by 
British powers, in 1815 over the forces of Buonaparte? 
or the "Napolean medals/"' executed for the purpose 
of commemorating the achievements of the French 
armies. 

With such a vast amount of evidence in favor of 
Christianity before us, it is difficult for doubts, in rela- 
tion to its divinity and authenticity, to occupy our minds, 
unless we prefer falsehood to truth, and darkness rather 
than light 



R 



LECTURE VIII. 

Authenticity of Christianity shown from the 
miracles of scripture. 



" The christian faith, 
Unlike the timorous creeds of pagan priests, 
Was frank; stood forth to view, invited all 
To prove, exam'ne, search, investigate, 
And gave herself a light to see her by. 
Mysterious these — because too large for eye 
Of man; too lon^ for human arm to mete." 



It has been admitted, by all candid and impartial minds, 
that the miracles recorded in scripture, present indu- 
bitable testimony in favor of the divinity and truth of 
our holy religion. And even skeptics have acknowl- 
edged that, if these miracles were really performed, the 
Bible is true, and Christianity is not a cunningly de- 
vised fable. 

The possibility of miracles wrought by the power of 
God, can be denied by none but Atheists, or those 
whose systems are substantially Atheistic. 

To one who believes in a supreme Creator of all 
things, and the dependence of all things upon his power 
and will, miraculous interpositions must be allowed 
possible; nor is there any thing repugnant to our ideas 
of his wisdom and immutability, and the perfection of 
his works. They are departures from the ordinary 
course of God's operation; but this does not arise from 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 193 

any natural necessity, to remedy an uniform evil, or to 
repair imperfections in his work; the reasons for them 
are moral, and not natural reasons, and the ends they 
are intended to accomplish are moral ends. They 
remind us, when they occur, that there is a power supe- 
rior to nature, and that all nature, even in its first and 
most uniform laws, depend upon Him. They are among 
the chief means by which he who is by nature invisible, 
makes himself, as it were, visible to his creatures, who 
are so prone to forget Him entirely, or to lose sight of 
Him by reason of the interposition of the veil of material 
objects. 

Granting, then, the possibility of miraculous interpo- 
sition on the part of the Great Author of nature, on 
special occasions, and for great ends, we proceed to 
notice some of the miracles recorded in the Old and 
New Testaments ; and endeavor to ascertain whether 
they were wrought in confirmation of the doctrine and 
mission of the founders of the Jewish and Christian 
Religion. If this cannot be ascertained, the history 
which records these miracles must be mere fable, and, 
consequently, all evidence drawn from this source be 
given up. 

The definition of a true miracle, which we have 
adopted, may be here stated : 

A miracle is an effect or event contrary to the estab- 
lished constitution or course of things ; or, a sensible 
suspension or controlment of, or deviation from, the 
known laws of nature, wrought either by the immediate 
aet, or by the concurrence, or by the permission of 
God, for the proof or evidence of some particular doc 



194 ALir;r>~TICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

trine, or in attestation of the authority of some pai uv- 
ular person. 

The force of the argument from miracles, lies in 
this : — that as such works are manifestly above human 
power, and as no created being can effect them, unless 
empowered by the Author of nature, when they are 
wrought for such an end as that mentioned in the defi- 
nition, they are to be considered as authentications of a 
divine mission by a special and sensible interposition of 
God himself. To adduce all the extraordinary works 
wrought by Moses and by Christ, would be unnecessary, 
In those we select for examination, the miraculous char- 
cater will sufficiently appear to bring them within our 
defmition. 

I. Out of the numerous miracles wrought by the 
agency of Moses, we select — 

1. The Plague of Darkness. Two circumstances 
are to be noted in the relation given of this event, 
Exod. x. It continued three days, and it afflicted the 
Egyptians only, for "all the children of Israel had 
light in their dwellings." The fact here mentioned, 
was of the most public kind; and had it not taken place, 
every Egyptian and every Israelite could have contra- 
dicted the account. The phenomenon was not produced 
by the sun, for no eclipse of that luminary can last so 
long. Some of the Roman writers mention a darkness 
by day so great, that persons were unable to know each 
other ; but we have no historical account of any other 
darkness so long continued as this, and so intense, that 
the Egyptians " rose not up from their places for three 
days." But if any such circumstance had again oc- 
curred, and a natural cause could have been assigned 



AUTttENTi^Vo^ CHRISTIANITY. 195 

for it, yet even then the miraculous character of this 
event would remain unshaken ; for to what but to a 
supernatural cause could the distinction made between 
the Israelites and the Egyptians be attributed, when 
they inhabited a portion of the same country 1 Here, 
then, are the characters of a true miracle. The estab- 
lished course of natural causes and effects is inter- 
rupted by an operation upon that mighty element, the 
atmosphere. That it was not a chance irregularity in 
nature, is made apparent from the effect following the 
volition of a man acting in the name of the Lord of 
nature, and from its being restrained by that to a cer- 
tain part of the same country. "Moses stretched out 
his hand,' 7 and the darkness prevailed every where but 
in the dwellings of his own people. The fact being 
established, the miracle follows of necessity. 

2. The destruction of the first born of the Egyptians 
may be next considered. This judgment was threaten- 
ed in the presence of Pharoah, before any of the other 
plagues were brought upon him and his people. The 
Israelites also were forwarned of it. They were di- 
rected to slay a lamb, sprinkle the blood upon their 
door posts, and prepare for their departure that same 
night. The stroke was inflicted upon the first born of 
the Egyptians only, and not upon any other part of the 
family. It occurred in the same hour. The firstborn 
of the Israelites escaped without exception. And the 
festival of " the passover" was that night instituted in 
remembrance of the event. Such a festival could not 
in the nature of the thing be established in any subse- 
quent age, in commemoration of an event which never 
occurred. And instituted at the time, the event must 
R* 



196 AUTHENTICITY U^CMKfS-TJ-A>:iTY._ 

have taken place; for by no means could this larger 
body of men have been persuaded that their first born 
had been saved and those of the Egyptians destroyed, 
if the facts had not been before their eyes. The history 
therefore being established, the miracle follows — for the 
order of nature is sufficiently known to warrant the 
conclusion, that, if a pestilence were to be assumed as 
the agent of this calamity, an epidemic disease, how- 
ever rapid and destructive, comes not at the threat of 
a mortal, and makes no such selection as the first born 
of every family. 

3. The miracle of dividing the waters of the Red 
Sea, merits particular consideration. 

In this event we observe, as in all others, circum- 
stances which exclude all possibility of mistake or col- 
lusion. The subject of the miracle is the sea; the wit- 
nesses, the hosts of Israel, who passed through on foot, 
and the Egyptian nation, who lost their king and his 
whole army. The miraculous characters of the event 
are — the waters are divided and stand up on each side; 
the instrument is a strong east wind, which begins its 
operation upon the waters, at the stretching out of the 
hand of Moses, and ceases at the signal, and that at the 
precise moment when the return of the waters woald 
be most fatal to the Egyptian pursuing army. 

It has, indeed, been asked, whether there were not 
some ledges of rocks where the water was shallow, so 
that an army, at particular times, might pass over; and 
whether the Etesian winds, which blow strong!) a 11 
summer from the north-west, might not blow so vio- 
lently against the sea as to keep it back " on a heap." 

But if there were any force in these questions, it is 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 197 

plain that such suppositions would leave the destruction 
of the Egyptians unaccounted for. To show that there 
is no weight in them at all, let the place where the pas- 
sage of the Red Sea was effected be first noted. Some 
fix it near Suez, at the head of the gulf. But if there was 
satisfactory evidence of this, it ought also to be taken 
into the account that formerly the gulf extended at least 
twenty-five miles north of Suez, the place where it ter- 
minates at present. 

But the names of places, as well as tradition, fix 
the passage about ten hours' journey lower down, at 
Clysma, or the valley of Bedea. The name given by 
Moses to the place where the Israelites encamped before . 
the Sea was divided Piha-hiroth, which signifies "the 
mouth of the ridge," or of that chain of mountains 
which line the western coast of the Red Sea; and as 
there is but one mouth to that chain through which an 
immense multitude of men, women and children, could 
possibly pass when flying from their enemies, there 
can be no doubt whatever respecting the situation of 
Piha-hiroth; and the modern names of conspicuous 
places in its neighborhood prove that those by whom 
such names were given believed that this was the place 
at which the Israelites passed the sea in safety, and 
where Pharaoh was drowned. 

Thus we have close by Piha-hiroth, on the western 
side of the gulf, a mountain called Attaka, which signi- 
fies deliverence. On the eastern coast opposite is a 
head-land called Has Musa, or "the cape of Moses ;" 
somewhat lower, Harnan Faraun, "Pharoalrs Springs;" 
while at these places, the general name of the gulf 
itself is Bahr-al Kolsum, " the Bay of Submersion/' in 



193 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY, 

which there is a whirlpool, called Birket Faraun, the 
Pool of Pharoah. This, then, was the passage of the 
Israelites; and the depth of the Sea here is stated by 
Bruce, who may be consulted as to these localities, at 
about fourteen fathoms, and the breadth at between 
three and four leagues. But there is no " ledge of 
rocks;" and as to the " Etesian wind," the same tra- 
veler observes: "If the Etesian, blowing from the 
north-west in the summer, could keep the sea as a wall, 
on the right, of fifty feet high, still the difficulty would 
remain of building the wall to the left, or to the north. 
If the Etesian had done this once, they must have re- 
peated it many a time before or since, from the same 
causes." The wind which actually did blow, according 
to history, either as an instrument of dividing the wa- 
ters, or, which is more probable, as the instrument of 
drying the ground, after the waters were divided by the 
immediate energy of the divine power, was not a north 
wind, but an "east wind;" and, as Dr. Hales observes, 
"seems to be introduced by way of anticipation, to 
exclude the natural agency which might be afterwards 
resorted to for solving the miracle; for it is remarkable 
that the mon.soon, in the Red Sea, blows the summer 
half of the year from the north, and the winter half 
from the south — neither of which could produce the 
miracle in question." 

The miraculous character of this event, is therefore 
most strongly marked. An expanse of water, and 
that water a sea of from nine to twelve miles broad, 
known to be exceedingly subject to agitations, is divided, 
and a wall of water is formed on each hand, affording 
a passage on dry land for the Israelites. The phenom- 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 19$ 

enon occurs, too, just as the Egyptian host are on the 
point of overtaking the fugitives, and closes at the 
moment when the latter reach the opposite shore in 
safety; and when their enemies are in the midst of the 
passage, in the only position in which the closing of the 
wall of water on each side could insure the destruction 
of so large a force ! 

4. The falling of the manna in the wilderness, for 
forty years, is another unquestionable miracle, and one 
in which there could be neither mistake on the part of 
those who were sustained by it, nor fraud on the part 
of Moses. That this event was not produced by the 
ordinary course of nature, is rendered certain by the 
fact, that the same wilderness has been traveled by indi- 
viduals, and by large bodies of men, from the earliest 
ages to the present, but no such supply of food was 
ever met with, except on this occasion ; and its mirac- 
ulous character is further marked by the following 
circumstances : 1. That it fell but six days in the week. 
2. That it fell in such prodigious quantities as sustained 
three millions of souls. 3. That there fell a double 
quantity every Friday, to serve the Israelites for the 
next day, which was their Sabbath. 4. That what was 
gathered on the first five days of the week stank and 
bred worms, if kept above one day; but that which was 
gathered on Friday kept sweet for two days; and 5. Thai 
it continued falling while the Israelites remained in the 
wilderness, but ceased as soon as they came out of it, 
and got corn to eat in the land of Canaan. 6. Let 
these very extraordinary particulars be considered, and. 
they at once confirm the fact, while they unequivocally 
establish the miracle. No people could be deceived in 



*200 AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 

these circumstances ; no person could persuade them of 
their truth, if they had not occurred ; and the whole 
was so clearly out of the regular course of nature, as 
to mark unequivocally the interposition of God. 

To the majority of the numerous miracles recorded 
in the Old Testament, the same remarks apply, and 
upon them the same miraculous characters arenas indu- 
bitably impressed. 

II. If we proceed to those of Christ, the evidence 
becomes, if possible, more plain and positive. 

They were clearly above the power of either human 
agency, or natural causes. They were public ; they 
were such as could not admit of collusion or deception; 
they were performed under such circumstances as 
rendered it impossible for the witnesses and reporters of 
them to mistake ; they were often done in the presence 
of malignant, scrutinizing, and intelligent enemies, the 
Jewish rulers, who acknowledged the facts, but attrib- 
uted them to an evil supernatural agency ; and there is 
no interruption in the testimony, from the age in which 
they were wrought to this day. A close examination of 
them will be sufficient to convince any ingenuous mind, 
that all the characters of real and adequately attested 
miracles meet in them. 

As the resurrection of Christ is a fact of such vital 
moment in the argument connected with miracles, and 
so often appealed to by the first teachers of Christianity, 
it may be adduced, with its convincing and irrefragable 
circumstances, as the foundation of this branch of evi- 
dence in favor of Christianity, which is the consum- 
mation of all those institutions embodied in the Jewish 
scriptures. The resurrection of Christ is a fact of a 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 201 

distinctly miraculous character, and which was divinely 
attested on the day of Pentecost, and, subsequently, by 
indubitable marks of a supernatural interposition. For 
a person to rise from the dead, is a striking manifesta- 
tion of the mighty power of God ; and if it can be 
shown that Christ actually rose from the dead, accord- 
ing to his own predictions, it must of necessity follow 
that both the prescience and the omnipotence of the 
Almighty were associated with the wondrous event 
Many skeptics have been ready to admit, that if the 
resurrection of Christ could be fully established, their 
opposition to Christianity must cease. It was impossible 
for them to concede less than this ; and the zealous 
efforts they have made to repudiate the evidence of our 
Lord's resurrection, sufficiently proves their anxiety to 
get rid of a fact, which, if properly established, must, 
as by some mighty convulsion, shiver infidelity to atoms, 
and u leave not a wreck behind." As the doctrine con- 
tended for is of such vast importance to the full devel- 
opement of the truth of Christianity, it is a peculiarly 
happy circumstance, that the evidence upon which it 
stands is of such a diversified and powerful kind — 
bearing, as it were, an exact proportion to the com- 
manding position which it occupies in the christian 
scheme. With the fact of Christ's resurrection from 
the dead, the whole system of Christianity must stand 
or fall ; to bear witness of this fact the office of apostles 
was mainly established; upon its reception our salvation 
vitally depends; and by its all-powerful influence be- 
lievers are inspired by the animating hope of eternal 
life. 

By this event, also, Christ was " declared to be the 



202 AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 

Son of God with power ;" by it the perfection of his 
atonement was fully announced ; and by it the evidence, 
pattern, and earnest of the resurrection of our vile 
bodies, were strikingly displayed. How momentous, 
then, upon the showing of Christianity itself, is the 
doctrine of Christ's resurrection ! How firm ought our 
faith to be in the evidence by which it is supported ! 
And how cautious and thoughtful ought he to be, w T ho 
ventures to treat it as an imposture of human device] 
The fact of Christ's death is admitted both by friends 
and enemies, as already shown in a former lecture. 

Nor was the place of his burial less manifest than 
the fact of his death. No secrecy was attempted to be 
practiced in this matter, by Joseph of Arimathea, or 
any of the rest of Christ's disciples. The request, 
indeed, that they might be put in possession of the 
body of Jesus, was complied with ; but all their move- 
ments were watched with nicest scrutiny, and a Roman 
watch of sixty soldiers was instantly set over the place 
of sepulture. 

That Christ died, then, and was buried, no one can 
doubt. Jews and heathens confirm the facts. Yet in a 
period short of three full days, notwithstanding the 
strict watch of a Roman guard, the body of Christ, by 
the admission of the disciples and Pharisees, is removed 
from the tomb. A rumor of the event instantly spreads, 
and enemies have their particular mode of accounting 
for it. Which account, then, bears upon it the signa- 
ture of truth — the disciples', or the Jews'? They cannot 
both be true, for they are contradictory. The disciples 
say that two women, Mary Magdalene, and Mary, the 
mother of James and Salome had repaired to the sep- 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 203 

ulcher, for the purpose of perfuming the body of Christ 
with eastern spices; and that an angel appeared to them, 
rolling away the stone from the door of the sepulcher, 
and inviting them, in the language of condescension, to 
look into the now empty tomb, where their Lord had 
been placed on the evening of the crucifixion, but from 
whence he had now risen in the exercise of an omnipo- 
tent power, It is, moreover, stated by the disciples, 
that the women received commission from the angel to 
announce a risen Christ to the rest of his followers^ 
From the same source, we learn that others subsequently 
repaired to the tomb, and found the body of Christ 
removed, and only the linen in which it was wrapped 
left behind ; that the fact of an actual resurrection was 
demonstrated by the appearance of Christ to several of 
his disciples, both alone and in full assembly ; that the 
eye saw him ; that the hand touched him ; that the mind 
entered into fellowship with him ; that some enjoyed the 
benefit of his conversation, partook of food with him, 
listened to his instructions, received his commands, and 
for the space of more than five weeks, had more or 
less intercourse with him — when, at the end of this 
period, and after he had given commission to his apos- 
tles, he finally conducted his disciples to a mountain in 
Galilee, and rose to his native heavens in their admiring 
presence. 

Such is the account of Christ's resurrection, as fur- 
nished by his friends. And what is there in the opposite 
scale ? Nothing whatever. It is said, indeed, by the 
Sanhedrim, that the disciples stole the body of Jesus 
while the watch slept ! This is verily all, in the shape 
of fact, that the Jews ever attempted to oppose to the 
S 



204 AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISIATNITT. 

combined testimony of the disciples; and it is so utterly 
absurd, that nothing but the consternation occasioned by 
the astounding fact of the resurrection, could have 
tempted them to induce the watch, by an act of bribery, 
to make such a statement. Either the watch were 
asleep or awake. If awake, how could an armed 
body of sixty men have allowed the disciples to rob the 
tomb of its sacred inhabitant ? And, if asleep, how 
could they bear testimony to the theft of the disciples ? 
This wild and extravagant fabrication, however, was 
speedily abandoned. 

Not once is it adverted to on those trials of the apos- 
tles which soon took place at Jerusalem, on account of 
their bold and open proclamation of their Master's 
resurrection. Though the apostles were cited before 
that very body who had given currency to the report of 
the disciples' theft, they are not even once taxed with 
the crime; not even a whisper escapes the lips of the 
Sanhedrim on the' subject; not one of all the watch is 
brought forward to confront the apostles, and to shame 
them out of their adherence to the imposture of the 
resurrection. On the contrary, an influential member 
of the Jewish Council advises forbearance to the wit- 
nesses of the resurrection, and intimates even the pos- 
sibility of the event itself.* If the Sanhedrim had had 
the slightest belief of the wicked story invented, would 
they have adopted such a course? Undoubtedly not. 
Now was the time to muster all their strong evidence 
against the facts of the resurrection, and to prevent its 
further currency among the people. But nothing what- 

* Acts v, 33—40. 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 205 

ever of this kind is resorted to. Persecution and threat, 
are the only weapons employed to check the rising 
doctrine; and a whole assembly of men, deeply involv- 
ed in. the consequences of the resurrection, not only 
succumb to the counsel of an individual, but apparently 
acquiesce in the hypothetical admission that the entire 
doctrine of the apostles may yet prove itself to be of 
God. 

There is not, then, an atom of contradictory testi- 
mony to the fact of the resurrection as stated by the 
apostles. If we reject their account, we are left in a 
state of the wildest conjecture as to what became of the 
body of Jesus. Look, then, at their testimony, and 
see if it bears along with it the credentials of truth. 
Upon a review of the gospel history itself, was there 
any thing improbable in the occurrence of Christ's 
resurrection? Did he not, again and again, in the 
presence of friends and enemies, predict the event, and 
point to it as the great seal of his mission? and did he 
not furnish axamples of the same mighty power in the 
resurrection of Lazarus, and of the widow's son, as 
well as ia many other demonstrations of his eternal 
power and Godhead? Before anyone can show that 
the event of Christ's resurrection was by no means to be 
anticipated, he must disprove the entire facts of our 
Lord's history, and thereby subvert the testimony of 
heathens, Jews, and Christians. The question is, were 
the apostles deceived, or did they attempt to deceive 
others? The former of these could not have been the 
case; for they had every possible opportunity of identi- 
fying their Lord's person which could possibly be fur- 
nished, or which could ever be regarded by the most 



206 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

scrupulous, as necessary. The very doubts of their 
own minds contributed to add strength to the conviction 
which they acquired of their Lord's identity; and for 
the space of full forty days they were enabled, in a suc- 
cession of interviews, to correct any sudden or errone- 
ous impression, and to settle themselves in the triumph- 
ant belief that Christ was risen indeed. 

Nor was there one sign of an imposture attaching to 
to these simple-hearted witnesses of the resurrection. 
There is no attempt to furnish one uniform record of 
the transaction. On the contrary, we have four diifer- 
ent accounts of the resurrection, so distinct as to show 
that each writer aimed at the truth, and was under no 
apprehension of discrepancy in his statements; and yet 
so entirely harmonious that the apparent contradictions 
only tend to establish the validity and perfect consis- 
tency of the history. 

It may be asked, moreover, when and where did the 
apostles of our Lord begin to proclaim the event of the 
resurrection? Why, at the very period of its alledged 
occurrence, and in the very city of the crucifixion. 
When they were once convinced of the great and glo- 
rious event themselves, they were bold as lions in its 
defence, and were not afraid to give utterance to their 
convictions in the presence of those who must have 
possessed the best means of detecting the imposture, if 
any such had been practiced. The most subtle and 
disputatious of the Jewish nation heard their testimony. 
Malice, and wit, and power, were all enlisted against 
them; but the new doctrine prevailed, and fresh instan- 
ces of miraculous power, in the gift of tongues, and 
ia the ability to heal all manner of diseases, accredited 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 207 

he apostles as the commissioned servants of the Most 
High. And we may add, that a more complete human 
testimony to any event cannot be imagined ; for if our 
Lord had shown himself "openly to all the people" of 
the Jews, and their rulers had still persisted in reject- 
ing him, it would have rather weakened than confirmed 
the evidence ; and if they had unanimously received 
him as Messiah, it might have excited in others a sus- 
picion that it was a plan concerted for aggrandizing the 
nation. 

With respect to the pretended miracles of heathens, 
and of the Roman Church, we may observe, that it was 
natural to expect that pretences to miraculous powers 
should be made under every form of Religion, since 
the opinion of the earliest ages was in favor of the 
occurrence of such events ; and as truth had been 
thus sanctioned, it is not surprising that error should 
attempt to counterfeit its authority. But they are all 
deficient in evidence. Many of them are, indeed, ab- 
surd, and carry the air of fable ; and as to others, they 
are vouched to us by no such testimony, as can induce 
a prudent man to give them credit. They are not re- 
ported by any eye witnesses of them, nor by any per- 
sons on whom they were wrought. Those who relate 
them do not even pretend to have received them from 
eye witnesses ; we know them only by vague reports, 
the original of which no one can exactly trace. The 
miracles ascribed to Pythagorus were not reported 
until several hundred years after his death ; and those 
of Apollonius, one hundred years after his death. 
Many instances which are given, especially among the 
Papists, may be resolved into imagination ; others, 
S* 



208 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

both Popish and Pagan, into the artifice of priests, who 
were of the ruling party, and therefore feared no pun- 
ishment even upon detection ; and in almost all cases, 
we find that they were performed in favor of the domi- 
nant religion, and before persons whose religious pre- 
judices were to be flattered and strengthened by them y 
and of course, persons very much disposed to become 
dupes. We may reasonably suspect any accounts of 
miracles to be false, if they are not published till long 
after the time when they are said to have been perform- 
ed — or if they were not first published in the place 
where they are said to have been wrought — or if they 
probably were suffered to pass without examination, in 
the time, and at the place where they took their rise. 
These are general grounds of suspicion, to which may 
be added particular ones, arising from any circumstan- 
ces which plainly indicate imposture and artifice on the 
one hand, or credulity and imagination on the other. 
Before such tests, all Pagan, Popish, and other pre- 
tended miracles, without exception, shrink : and they 
are not for a moment to be brought into comparison 
with works wrought publicly— in the sight of thousands, 
and those often opjyoscrs of the system to be established 
by them — works, not by any ingenuity whatever to be 
resolved into artifice on the one part, or into the effects 
of imagination on the other- — works, performed before 
scholars, statesmen, rulers, persecutors, of which the 
instances are numerous, and the places in which they 
occurred various — works, published at the time, and on 
the very spot — works, not in favor of a ruling system, 
but directed against every other religious establishment 
under heaven ; and for giving their testimony to which, 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 209 

the original witnesses had therefore to expect, and did 
in sv. e reproach, stripes, imprisonment, 

and death. 

In the miracles which our Lord performed, he not 
only evinced his divine power, but fulfilled many impor- 
tant prophecies relating to him as the Messiah. T 
they afforded a two-fold evidence of his authority. In 

iral of them we perceive likewise i -:riking refer- 
ence to the special object of his mission. He continually 
applied these wonderful works to the purpose of incul- 
cating and establishing doctrines, no less wonderful and 
interr ; of men. 

The same may likewise be remarked of the miracles 
recorded of the apostles, after our Lord's departure 
from this world — in none of which do we find any 
thing done for mere ostentation; but an evident a:: 
tion to the great purpose of the gospel, that of *' turning 
men from darkness unto light, and from the pow- 
Satan unto God.* ? It seems impossible for any think- 
ing man, to take such a view as this of the peculiar 
zn and use of the scripture miracles, and not to 
perceive in them unerring counsels of infinite Wisdom, 
ell as the exertions of infinite Power. When we 
ral parts of this stupendous scheme : 
harmonizing and co-operating for the attainment of one 
specific object, of the highest importance to the whole 
race of mankind; we cannot but be struck with a con- 

lion of the absolute impo ^ of imposture 

enthusiasm, in any part of the proceeding. We are 
compelled to acknowledge, that they exhibit proo:\ 

..ie agency, carried on in one continued srr.e?. such 
as no other system have ever pretended to: such as 



210 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

only surpasses all human ingenuity, but seems impossi- 
ble to have been effected by any combination of created 
beings. 

On miracles, therefore, like those which attest the 
the mission of Moses and of Christ, we may safely rest 
the proof of the authority of both, and say to each of 
them, though with a due sense of the superiority of the 
latter to the former, " Rabbi, we know that thou art a 
Teacher sent from God, for no man can do these mira- 
cles which thou doest, except God be with him." 

It is unreasonable, then, in the extreme, to refuse 
credit to the doctrines of Christianity, standing as they 
do upon such an irrefragible basis. God has spread 
over them the shield of omnipotence, and he who will 
not be convinced by a well authenticated testimony of 
miracles, would not be persuaded though one actually 
rose from the dead. 

The divine wisdom and condescension have been ex- 
hibited in performing and recording various and nume- 
rous miracles, in order to attest the truth of revealed 
religion, to induce men to embrace it, and be governed 
by its holy precepts; as well as to remove all possible 
grounds for objections from the skeptical world. 

For example, Jesus of Nazareth professed himself 
sent from God. He with a word calms a tempest at 
sea. This one looks on as a miracle, and conse- 
quently cannot but receive his doctrine. Another 
thinks this might be the effect of chance, or skill in the 
weather, and no miracle; and so stands out — but after- 
wards, seeing him walk on the sea, owns that for a 
miracle, and believes ; which yet upon another has not 
that force, who suspects it may possibly be done by the 



At'THENTlClTY OF CHRISTIANITY. 211 

assistance of a spirit. But vet the same person, seeing 
afterwards, our Saviour cure an inveterate disease by a 
word, admits that for a miracle, and becomes a convert. 
Another overlooking it in this instance, afterwards finds 
a miracle in his giving sight to one born blind, or in 
raising the dead, or his raising himself from the dead, 
and so receives his doctrine as a revelation coming 
from God. By all of which it is plain, that where the 
miracle is admitted, the doctrine cannot be rejected : it 
comes with the assurance of a divine attestation to him 
that allows the miracle, and he cannot question its 
truth. And the number, variety, and greatness of the 
miracles wrought for the confirmation of the doctrine 
delivered by Jesus Christ, carry with them such strong 
marks of an extraordinary divine power, that the truth 
of his mission will stand firm and unquestionable, till 
any one rising up in opposition to him shall do greater 
miracles than he'and his apostles did. 

This is one of those palp as ana trials, of 

which all mankind are judges ; and there needs no as- 
sistance of learning, no deep thought, to come to a 
certainty in it. Such care has God taken that no pre- 
tended revelation should stand in competition with what 
is truly divine, that we need but open our eyes to see, 
and be sure which came from him. The marks of his 
overruling power accompany it : and therefore to this 
day we find, that wherever the Gospel comes, it pre- 
vails to the beating down the strong holds of Satan, and 
the dislodging the prince of the power of darkness, 
driving him away with all his lying wonders ; which is 
a standing miracle, carrying with it the testimony of 
superiority. 



212 AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 

" Under this head," says Addison, " I cannot omit 
that which appears to me a standing miracle in the first 
three centuries ; I mean that amazing and supernatural 
courage or patience which was shown by innumerable 
multitudes of martyrs, in those slow and painful tor- 
ments that were inflicted on them. I cannot conceive a 
man placed in the burning iron chair at Lyons, amid 
the insults and mockeries of a crowded amphitheatre, 
and still keeping his seat ; or stretched upon a grate of 
iron, over coals of fire, and breathing out his soul 
among exquisite sufferings of such a tedious execution, 
rather than renounce his religion or blaspheme his 
Saviour. Such trials seem to me above the strength of 
human nature, and able to overbear duty, reason, faith, 
conviction, nay, and the most absolute certainty of a 
future state. Humanity, unassisted in an extraordinary 
manner, must have shaken off the present pressure, 
and have delivered itself out of such a dreadful distress, 
by any means that could have been suggested by it. 
We can easily imagine, that many persons, in so good 
a cause, might have laid down their lives at the gibbet, 
the stake, or the block ; but to expire leisurely among 
the most exquisite tortures, when they might come out 
of them, even by a mental reservation, or an hypocrisy, 
which was not without a possibility of being followed 
by repentance and forgiveness, has something in it so 
far beyond the natural strength of mortals, that one 
cannot but think there was some miraculous power to 
support the sufferer." 

This miraculous fortitude of the first Christians under 
extreme sufferings, and painful and lingering deaths, 
first of all alarmed the curiosity, and roused the atten- 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 213 

tion of Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Lactantius, Arnobius, 
and other learned Pagans, who lived in the ages of 
persecution, and made them seriously inquisitive into 
the nature of that religion which could endue the mind 
with so much strength, and overcome the fear of death, 
nay, raised an earnest desire of it, though it appeared 
in all its terrors. This they found had not been effected 
by all the doctrines of those philosophers whom they 
had thoroughly studied, and who had been laboring at 
this great point. The sight of these dying and tor- 
mented martyrs, engaged them to search into the his- 
tory and doctrines of him for whom they suffered. 
The more they searched, the more they were convinced; 
till their conviction grew so strong, that they themselves 
embraced the same truths, and either actually laid down 
their lives, or were always in readiness to do it, rather 
than depart from them. If there is any dependence, 
whatever, to be put in human testimony, we must admit 
that miracles were wrought by Moses, Christ, and his 
apostles ; as testimonials of their commission, and au- 
thenticity of those doctrines they taught. And were 
infidels as careful to investigate the evidence of mira- 
cles, as some heathens have been, their skepticism 
would vanish like the morning cloud. 



LECTURE IX. 

Authenticity of Christianity shown from cir^ 
cumstantial and personal types, and the ful- 
filment of prophecy. 

"These prophecies had tarried long; so long 
That many wagged their head, and taunting asked, 
When shall they come? But asked no more, nor mock'd; 
For the reproach of prophecy was wiped 
Away, and every word of God found true." 

I. Whatever may be weakly pretended with regard to 
the oracular predictions of Delphi or Dodona, the hea- 
thens never affected to prefigure any future event by 
types, or resemblances of the fact, consisting of analo- 
gies either in individuals, or in sensible institutions di- 
rected to be continued, until the anti-type itself should 
make its appearance. 

All persons acquainted with the divine records, must 
acknowledge that, from a very early period, Chi'ist was 
pointed to by a regular succession of circumstantial and 
personal types; and that He, as the great anti-type, 
perfectly corresponded with them. 

1- We shall first give some examples of the circum- 
stantial types. 1. The Passover, appointed in memory 
of the great night, when the destroying angel who slew 
all the ''first born of Egypt/' passed over those houses 
upon whose door-posts the blood of the paschal lamb 
was sprinkled; and directed to be eaten with what the 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 215 

apostle calls " the unleavened bread of sincerity ami 
truth." 2. The annual expiation, in two respects- 
first, as the high priest entered into the holy of holies 
with the blood of the sacrifice, whose body was burnt 
without the camp, ** wherefore Jesus, also, that he 
might sanctify his people with his own blood, suffered 
without the gate/ 5 and " after he had offered one sacri- 
fice for sin, forever sat down at the right hand of 
God;" and secondly, as " all the iniquity of the chil- 
dren of Israel was put upon the head" of the scape 
goat. 3, The brazen serpent, by looking up to which 
the people were cured of the stings of the fiery ser- 
pents; and whose "lifting up" was, by Christ himself, 
interpreted as emblematical of his being lifted up on 
the cross. 4. The manna, which represented " the 
bread of life which came down from heaven." 5. The 
rock, whence the waters flowed, to supply drink in the 
wilderness — " and that rock was Christ." 6. The 
Sabbath, ^'a shadow of Christ;" and as a figure of 
his eternal rest, denominated " a sign of the perpetual 
^covenant." And, lastly, to omit others, the temple, 
where alone the shadowy sacrifices were to be offered, 
because Christ, " the body," was to be offered there 
himself. 

2. Of personal types, likewise, we shall confine our- 
selves to such as are considered in the New Testament. 
I. Adam, between whom and Christ a striking series 
of relations is remarked. (Rom. v, 12 — 21, and 1 Cor. 
xv, 45 — 49.) 2. Noah, who was " saved by water; 
the like figure whereunto, even baptism, doth now save 
us, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." 3. Melchise- 
dek, king of Salem, who was made like unto the Son of 
T 



216 AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 

God, a priest continually. 4. Abraham, "the heir of 
the world," "in whom all the nations of the earth are 
blest." 5. Isaac, in his birth and intended sacrifice, 
whence also his father received him in a figure — that 
is, of the resurrection of Christ. He, too, was the 
promised seed, in whom all the nations of the earth 
were to be blest. 6. Jacob, in his vision of the ladder, 
and his wrestling with the angel, whence he, and after 
him the Church, obtained the name of Israel. The 
Gentile world also, like Jacob, gained the blessing and 
heirship from their elder brethren the Jews. 7. Moses, 
in redeeming the children of Isarel out of Egypt, and 
interceding for them; in his faithfulness and excellency; 
and in his signs and wonders. 8. Joshua, called also 
Jesus, in acquiring for the Israelites the possession of 
the Holy Land, and as lieutenant to the " Captain of 
the host of the Lord." 9. David, upon whose throne 
Christ is said to sit, and by whose names he is frequently 
designated, in his pastoral, regal, and prophetical capa- 
city. 10. Jonah, in his dark imprisonment of three 
days, applied to Christ by himself. 

With these striking types before us, all pointing di- 
rectly to Jesus Christ, the author of Christianity, we 
are led to exclaim, " we have found Him, of whom 
Moses in the law, and the prophets did write." 

II. We shall notice the evidence derived from scrip- 
ture prophecy. 

In its restricted and most appropriate use and accept- 
ation, the term prophecy denotes the foretelling of 
things future and unknown, and it is in this sense the 
word is used in the following remarks on this branch of 
evidence. 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 217 

The foretelling of future events depends upon a 
knowledge of them; or of the causes and connections 
of things, which, from established principles, necessa- 
rily issue in certain results. All men are possessed of 
a certain species of this sort of knowledge. They have 
a data which enables them not only to conjecture, but 
even to foreknow with certainty what shall come to 
pass. This data is either the result of experience, of 
reasoning upon well established principles, or upon 
testimony. We know that all the living shall die; that 
the trees will bud and blossom in the spring; that the 
moon will change; a comet appear; or that an eclipse 
of the sun will happen on a certain day. Men of ex- 
traordinary sagacity can penetrate into futurity, and 
sometimes guess, conjecture, and even foretell, upon a 
large accumulation of probabilities, certain political 
events. 

But still the limitations and utmost bounds of this 
knowledge are very narrow; and comparatively few 
are the events future of which any man can speak with 
certainty. 

But although we admit that such foreknowledge is 
possessed by many, yet the foundation on which it 
rests is not what skeptical philosophers allow it to be. 
For if they were put to the test, they could not prove 
any topics or data within the area of the premises from 
which they reason — that the sun will rise to-morrow; 
or that the laws of nature will continue to operate as 
they have done for a single day. Let them set about 
the proof of such a position. But that knowledge of 
future events which we call prophecy, or which is ne- 
cessary to the foretelling of future events, is possessed 



21 8 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

by no mere man; and, therefore, no man, unaided by 
some supernatural knowledge, can foretell any future 
event, except such ashwe have already defined. 

For example, no man could have told, in the reign of 
Queen Elizabeth, that in the colony in Virginia, from 
an old English family, there would, in less than two- 
centuries, arise a man who should be a firm and un- 
daunted asserter of his country ? s rights; and, by his- 
counsel and heroic achievements, after a seven years 7 
struggle, not only succeed in detaching thirteen colonies 
from the despotism of England, but in establishing a 
new world of republics, surpassing the march of intel- 
lect, in advances towards national greatness, and in all 
the enjoyments of rational liberty, all nations upon the 
earth. No man, without supernatural aid, could have 
foretold such events. Now this is precisely the species 
of prophecy of which we are to speak in this branch 
of the argument. Such prophets, and such prophecies, 
do the sacred oracles present- • 

The existence of counterfeits and hypocrites, is a 
very stubborn and irrefragable proof that there is 
something genuine and authentic. Now amongst all 
nations there have been prophets. The pagans had 
their oracles, their auguries, and their divinations. 
Modern idolaters have their diviners and necromancers. 
Jews and Christians alone possessed, and gave the 
original of this idea. They alone afforded the realities 
of which these are the pretences. 

Great were the ends, and most important were the 
uses of prophecy, in the estimation of the Author of the 
christian religion. It is interwoven through the whole 
web* Scarcely a leaf is turned in the sacred volume. 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 219 

Avithout some prophetic enunciation. For giving men 
just views of God's omniciency; of his interest in the 
human family, and of his government or providence, 
and for inspiring them with the spirit of true devotion, 
the prophecies were promulged. 

But all prophecies have one single end in view — Mes- 
siah and his kingdom. Whether individuals, cities, 
tribes, nations, empires, proximate or remote ages, are 
the burden of the particular prophecies, Jesus, the Mes- 
siah, is the spirit and object of them all. 

Among the great multitude of prophecies that are 
found in the Old and New Testament, we select a few 
of those which relate to the fates of the great empires, 
nations, and cities of antiquity; to Messiah and his 
kingdom. 

1. The first nation which claims our attention is 
EgyP^ an d tnat > especially, as it was the first nation 
that persecuted the children of Israel. In the 29th and 
30th chapters of the prophecy of Ezekiel, we find pre- 
dictions of the fate of Egypt, delivered five hundred 
and eighty-nine years before the birth of Christ. The 
prophet here informs us, that " Egypt shall be the 
basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any 
above the nations — there shall be no more a prince of 
the land of Egypt." It is more than two thousand 
years since the prophecy was delivered, and Egypt has 
never recovered its liberties, but is to this day under 
the yoke of foreigners. It was conquered by the Baby- 
lonians; then by the Persians; and in succession passed 
under the dominion of the Macedonians, Romans, Sar- 
acens, Mamelukes, and Turks. No native prince of 
Egypt has ever restored his country to independence, 
T* 



220 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

and ascended the throne of his ancestors; and the de- 
scendants of the ancient Egyptians are to this hour in 
the basest and most oppressed condition. Yet, in 
Egypt the human mind had made some of its earliest 
and auspicious efforts. The stupendous monuments of 
art and power, the ruins of which lie piled upon the 
banks of the Nile, or still defy the wastes of time, at- 
test the vastness of the designs and the extent of the 
power of its princes. 

Egypt, too, was possessed of great natural advanta- 
ges. Its situation was singularly calculated to protect 
it against foreign invasion; while its great fertility 
promised to secure the country it enriched from pover- 
ty, baseness, and subjection. Yet, after a long course 
of grandeur, and in contradiction to its natural advan- 
tages, Ezekiel pronounced that the kingdom should be 
" the basest of all kingdoms/' and that there should be 
" no more a prince of the land of Egypt." So the 
event has been, and so it remains; and that this won- 
derful prophecy should be passed over by infidels in 
silence, is deeply characteristic of their minds. It is 
not for the want of evidence that the word of God is 
rejected by them. The evil is not the want of light, 
but the love of darkn 

But we are aware that Ezekiel has been assaulted, 
for saying, in reference to Egypt, that " No foot of 
man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass 
through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years." 
This infidels say " never came to pass, consequently it 
is false." We admit that no period can be pointed out 
from the age of Ezekiel to the present, in which there 
wjls no foot of man or beast to be seen for forty years 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 221 

in all Egypt. But some think that only a part of 
Egypt is here spoken of; as the Delta is the only part 
that is, strictly speaking, entitled to be called Egypt- 
And the principal places mentioned in our sacred wri- 
tings, Zoan, Noph, and Tophanes; are all referable to 
the Delta. Probably little of them remains. No one 
can prove that this prediction was not accomplished, 
even so fully that the expressions might be used with- 
out hvperpole; for the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar 
was one of the same sweeping and devastating charac- 
ter as his invasion and conquest of Judea; and we 
know that the greater part of the inhabitants of that 
country were destroyed, or led captive, and that tho 
land generally remained untilled for seventy years — 
though not absolutely without inhabitant. 

.We shall next notice the prophecies respecting the 
four grand monarchies which have, in succession, 
reigned over the kings of the earth, viz: first, the 
Chaldean; secondly, the Medo-Persian; thirdly, the 
Grecian; fourthly, the Roman empires. 

Daniel, in his interpretation of Nebudchadnezzars 
dream, points out the fates of these great empires.* He 
says to Nebuchadnezzar, referring to the image whose 
u head was of fine gold, his breast and arms of silver, 
his body and thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet 
part of iron of iron and part clay/' " thou art this head 
of gold — and after thee shall arise another kingdom 
inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, 
which shall bear rule over all the earth; and the fourth 
kingdom shall be strong as iron; and the kingdom 

* Dan. ii. 



222 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength 
of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed 
with miry clay — the kingdom shall be partly strong and 
partly broken," [or brittle.] Now history informs us 
that these predictions were literally fulfilled. We 
shall notice the different empires spoken of, in order as 
they stand in the prediction. 

1. The Chaldean empire was called Assyrian in its 
commencement, the Chaldean from the country, and 
the Babylonish from its chief city. This was the first 
monarchy, begun by Nimrod, A. M. 1771, B. C. 2233; 
and ended with the death of Belshazzar, B. C. 538, 
after having lasted nearly seventeen hundred years, 
in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, it extended over Chal- 
dea, Assyria, Arabia, Syria, and Palestine. He was 
the head of gold. 

2. The Medo-Persian empire was that which pro- 
perly began under Darius the Mede. By the capture 
of Babylon, B. C. 538, he terminated the Chaldean 
empire; and on the death of his father Cambyses, and 
his uncle, Cyaxares, B. C. 536, he became sole govern- 
or of the Medes and Persians; and thus established 1 a 
potent empire on the ruins of that of the Chaldeans — - 
fitly represented by "the breast and arms of silver." 

3. The Macedonian or Greek empire, founded by 
Alexander the Great. He subdued Greece, penetrated 
into Asia, took Tyre, reduced Egypt, overthrew Darius 
Codomanus at Arbela, Oct. 2, B. C. 331 ; and thus ter- 
minated the Persian Monarchy. 

He crossed the Caucasus, subdued Hyreania, and 
penetrated India as far as the Ganges ; and having 
conquered all the countries that lay between the Adri- 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 223 

fltic sea and the Ganges, he died A. M. 3681, B. C. 

323 ; and after his death his empire became divided 
among his generals, Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, 
and Seleucus. Thus this empire, founded on the ruin 
of that of the Persians, had rule over all the earth, and 
was strikingly represented by "the body and thighs of 
brass." 

4. Dr. Clarke thinks that, the " legs of iron, and 
feet and toes of iron and clay," means, in the first 
place, the kingdom of the Lagidse, in Egypt, commen- 
ced by Ptolemy Lagus, and that of Selucidse, commen- 
ced by Selucus Nicator, B. C. 312, both generals 
of Alexander the Great, whose kingdoms continued 
through a long race of sovereigns, the first lasting two 
hundred and eighty two years, and the second, two 
hundred and forty seven ; both of which rose out of 
the Macedonian or Grecian empire, and both termina- 
ted in that of the Romans, which is, in the second 
place, meant by the ' legs of iron, and feet and toes 
of iron and clay." Thus the two legs of iron become 
absorbed in the Roman government, which also partook 
of the iron nature ; strong, military and extensive in 
its victories ; and by its various conquests united to and 
amalgamated with itself various nations, some strong, 
and some weak ; so as to be fitly represented in the 
symbolical image by feet and toes, partly of iron, and 
partly of clay. The empire became weakened by its 
conquests ; and although by mingling themselves with 
the seed of men, that is, by strong leagues and matimo- 
jaial alliances, they endeavored to secure a perpetual 
sovereignty, yet they did. not cleave to each other, and 
they also were swallowed up by the barbarous northern 



224 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

nations, namely — the Huns, the Ostrogoths, the Visi- 
goths, the Alans and Suevi, the Franks, the Vandals, 
the Burgundians, the Ileruli, and Rugii, the Saxons, 
and the Lombards ; which answer to the " ten toes of 
the image," and thus terminated those four most pow- 
erful monarchies. 

And that the predictions of Daniel concerning them 
have been fulfilled, every one who carefully examines 
them, must see and acknowledge. Another remarkable 
prophecy is that concerning Ishmael and his descend- 
ants. The angel of the Lord informed Hagar, the ser- 
vant of Abraham, while in the wilderness, that Ishmael, 
her son, would be " a wild man ; his hand would be 
against every man, and every men's hand against him/'' 
and that " he should dwell in the presence of all his 
brethren ;" and it was added : " Behold I have blessed 
him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him 
exceedingly ; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will 
make him a great nation." All these prophecies res- 
pecting the posterity of Ishmael, have been remarkably 
verified. Strabo, frequently mentions the Arabian 
Phylarchs, or rulers of tribes ; and Melo, quoted by 
Eusebius, relates that twelve sons of Abraham depart- 
ing into Arabia, divided the region between them, and 
were the first kings of the inhabitants ; " whence," 
says he, " even to our days, the Arabians have twelve 
kings of the same names as the first. And " I will 
make him a great nation." This is again and again 
repeated. The Saracens, his descendants, made rapid 
and extensive conquests, and erected one of the largest 
empires in the world. " And he will be a wild man." 
It is said of Ishmael, (Gen. xx. 20.) that " he dwelt in 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY* 225 

the wilderness, and his sons still inhabit the same wil- 
derness, and many of them neither sow nor plant 
" And he became an archer." Such the Arabs have 
been, and continue to this day. " His hand will be 
against every man, and every man's hand against him." 
Ishmael lived by prey and rapine in the wilderness ; 
and his posterity have all along infested Arabia, and 
the neighboring countries with their robberies and in- 
cursions. They live in a state of continual war with 
the rest of the world, and are both robbers by land and 
pirates by sea. They have been enemies to mankind, 
and the rest of mankind have been enemies to them ; 
and several unsuccessful attempts have been made to 
extirpate them. They go about in troops, and rob and 
plunder all whom they can by any means subdue. 
These robberies they also justify, "by alleging the 
hard usage of their father Ishmael, who being turned 
out of doors by Abraham, had the open plains and des- 
erts given him by God for his patrimony, with permis- 
sion to take whatever he could find there. And on this 
account, they think they may indemnify themselves as 
well as they can, not only on the posterity of Isaac, 
but also on all besides." They have from first to last 
maintained their independence ; and notwithstanding 
the -nost powerful efforts by the Ass} T rians, Medes and 
Persians, Macedonians, Romans and Turks, to destroy 
them, they still dwell in the presence of all their 
brethren. 

Thus has this single nation stood out against the en- 
mity of the whole world for near 4000 years together. 
The great empires around them have all in their turns 
fallen to ruin, while they have continued the same from 



226 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY 

the beginning. This, in the common course of human 
affairs, was in the highest degree improbable. These 
are the only people, besides the Jews, who have subsist- 
ed as a distinct people from the beginning. They, as 
well as the Jews, boast of their descent from Abraham, 
from whom also they profess to have derived circum- 
cision. 

It is worthy of remark, that for several centuries 
after the time of Mahomet, the Arabs were best known 
among the European nations, by the name of Saracens 
— the Araceni of Pliny, and the Hagarenes of scripture. 
They are a standing monument of the truth of pro- 
phecy, and inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. 

The Jewish nation comes next under our notice. 
The kingdom of Israel was separated from all other 
nations, in order, that, through it, the kingdom of 
heaven, which was to be universal, might be introduced. 
In consequence of this separation, the Jews enjoyed 
uncommon privileges ; but, as they abused these privi- 
leges, their punishment has been as signal as their ex- 
altation. Throughout the Old Testament scriptures, 
from the time when they were separated as a nation, 
there is a remarkable series of prophecies concerning 
them, to which an important addition was afterwards 
made by the Lord Jesus himself. To some of 1 these 
prophecies we shall now advert. 

In the 30th chapter of Deuteronomy, Moses says to 
Israel, " If thine heart turn away so that thou wilt not 
hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods 
and serve them, I denounce unto you this day that you 
shall surely perish, and that you shall not prolong your 
days upon the land whither thou passest over Jordan to 



AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY* 227 

possess it." In the 28th chapter of the same book, a 
full detail is given of all the calamities that would over- 
take them if they should be disobedient. These predic- 
tions were all fulfilled, though not at once. Different 
enemies were brought against them, and they sustained 
several sieges, all pointed out in various predictions, 
which were ultimately and fully accomplished in the 
destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, when "wrath 
came upon them to the uttermost," and in their final and 
grand dispersion. 

We find it foretold, that an enemy was to be brought 
against them " from far, from the end of the earth, as 
the eagle flieth." Thus the Romans, whose significant 
standard was an eagle, were brought against them. It 
was expressly foretold, that not only the men, but women, 
should eat their own children. " Ye shall eat the flesh 
of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye 
eat" This was fulfilled, about six hundred years after 
the time of Moses, among the Israelites, when Samaria 
was besieged by the king of Syria, and two women agreed 
together, the one to give up her child to be boiled and 
eaten to-day, and the other to deliver up her son to be 
dressed and eaten to-morrow; and one of them was 
eaten accordingly. 

It was fulfilled again, about nine hundred years after 
Moses' day in the siege of Jerusalem, before the Baby- 
lonish captivity. Jeremiah bewails this in his Lament- 
ations: "The hands of the pitiful women have sodden 
their own children; they were their meat in the destruc- 
tion of the daughter of my people." And again, it was 
fulfilled, about fifteen hundred years after the time of 
Moses, in the last siege of Jerusalem by Titus. And 
U 



228 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

we read in Josephus, particularly, of a noblewoman, 
illustrious for her family and riches, killing and eating 
her own child. Thus exactly were fulfilled the words 
of Moses concerning this great calamity that befell the 
Jews. 

Great numbers of the Jews were to be destroyed. 
This was literally fulfilled. Josephus computes that, 
during the whole siege, the number of those who were 
destroyed by it and by the war, amounted to eleven 
hundred thousand. 

They were to be sold unto their enemies, in Egypt, 
for bondmen and bondwomen, until none should buy 
them. This also was fulfilled. The markets were 
quite overstocked with them, and Josephus says that 
they were sold with their wives and children at the 
lowest price. They were to be scattered among all 
nations, where they should find no ease. They have 
been banished from city to city, from country to country. 
In many places they have been banished, and recalled, 
and banished again. In the latter end of the thirteenth 
century, they were banished from England; in the latter 
end of the fourteenth century, they were banished from 
France for the seventh time ; in the latter end of the 
fifteenth century, they were banished from Spain. Most 
of them paid dearly for a refuge in Portugal ; but, 
within a few years, they were expelled from thence also. 
Their property was to be taken from them, and they 
spoiled evermore. Frequent seizures have been made 
upon their effects, and they have been fined and plun- 
dered in almost all countries. 

Their " sons and their daughters were to be given 
unto another people." In Spain and Portugal, particu* 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 229 

lariy, their children have been taken from them by order 
of the government, to be educated in the Popish religion. 
And when they were banished from Portugal, the king 
ordered all their children under fourteen to be taken 
from them and baptized. 

Moses told them that they should "be mad for the 
sight of their eyes which they should see." This was 
fulfilled in the reign of Richard the First, when the 
people in arms were to make a general massacre of 
them. They offered to ransom their lives with money, 
after trying unsuccessfully to defend themselves in the 
city of York, which they had seized on; but the offer 
being refused, in madness and desperation the men 
stabbed their wives and children, then retired into the 
king's palace, which they set on fire, in which they 
consumed themselves with the palace and furniture. 

"And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, 
and a by-word among all nations whither the Lord shall 
lead thee." This prophecy we see and hear fulfilled 
almost every day. The word Jew is continually used 
as a proverb. They are generally hated. Moham- 
medans, heathens, and nominal Christians, however 
they may disagree on other points, yet agree in vilify- 
ing, abusing, and persecuting the Jews. Now that they 
should be a reproach and by-word, among those who 
were acquainted with their stubborn unbelief, their last 
great crime — their crucifixion of Christ, and who were 
acquainted with the prophecy concerning them, is not 
so strange. But to see them insulted and persecuted by 
the ignorant nations of the East — in the very words of 
prophecy, " trodden down of the heathen ;" trodden 
down by a people who never heard the name of Christ ; 



230 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY 

who never heard that the Jews had rejected Christ, and 
who, in fact, punished the Jews without a knowledge of 
their crime — this, we say, appears to be an awful com- 
pletion of the divine sentence. 

The great cause and extent of their punishment, are 
thus stated by Paul, 1 Thess. ii. 15. "They both killed 
the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have perse- 
cuted us, and they please no* God, and are contrary tc* 
all men. Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiks, that 
they might be saved ; to fill up their sins always, for 
the wrath has come upon them to the uttermost." Thus 
their own imprecation has been remarkably and awfralJy 
fulfilled — " His blood be upon us and our children. 77 

The preservation of the Jews as a separate people, is 
as distinctly announced as their various calamities and 
dispersions. Jeremiah says, "Fear thou not, O Jacob, 
my servant, saith the Lord, for I am with thee ; for I 
will make a full end of all the nations whither I have 
driven thee ; but I ivill not make a full end of thee." 
Accordingly, though the Jews are dispersed among all 
nations, they still continue a distinct people, and yet 
they no where live according to their own laws — no 
where elect their own officers — and no where can 
they enjoy the full exercise of their religion. 

The most ancient and honorable pedigree can be traced 
up only to a certain period, and beyond that there is 
nothing but conjecture, obscurity, and ignorance. But 
the Jews can go up higher than any nation ; they can 
even deduce their pedigree from the beginning of the 
world. They may not know from what particular tribe 
or family they are descended; but they know certainly 
that they all sprung from the stock of Abraham. 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 231 

Notwithstanding they have had to endure so many- 
wars, massacres and persecutions, they still subsist, a 
numerous, a distinct, and a wretched people. All this 
has something in it which the common principles of 
human nature will not explain. 

The present situation of the Jews, and what it has 
been, especially for the last seventeen hundred years, 
when compared with the foregoing prophecies, and 
many others which stand recorded in the sacred volume, 
is sufficient to strike infidelity dumb, and confirm the 
truth of the divine predictions. Let all be upon their 
guard, lest the declaration applied to the Jews by Paul, 
be in them also verified. " Behold ye despisers and 
wonder and perish ; for I work a work in your days, a 
work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man 
declare it unto you." 



U* 



LECTURE X. 

Evidence of prophecy — continued. 

We are now prepared to notice a few predictions con- 
cerning some of the ancient cities, the Messiah and his 
kingdom. 

I. As Jerusalem was the city where Jehovah mani- 
fested his glory in the Temple, was worshiped, and 
where Jesus appeared, we shall first notice a few pre- 
dictions respecting this city. 

In the days of Ahaz, king of Judah, the Lord spake 
by the prophet Isaiah, and foretold the conquest of 
Israel by the king of Assyria ; as also the invasion of 
Judah by the same force — see chap. viii. 4. That these 
predictions were accomplished in the days of Ahaz and 
Hezekiah is too plain to be denied. 

It was predicted by the prophet Jeremiah, that the 
Chaldeans should " come and jight against Jerusalem, 
take it y and burn it with fire" Accordingly, " in the 
fifth month, the tenth day of the month, came Nebu- 
zaradan, captain of the guard, which served the king 
of Babylon, into Jerusalem, and burnt the house of the 
Lord and the king's house ; and all the houses of Jeru- 
salem, and all the houses of the great men, burnt he 
with fire : and all the army of the Chaldeans that were 
with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls 
of the city round about it." Thus Jerusalem was taken 
and destroyed, and its inhabitants (those who were not 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 233 

slain) carried into captivity. But their restoration, and 
the rebuilding of the city and temple, had been also 
foretold by the prophets. Yea, the person who should 
be the principal instrument in this great work, was ex- 
pressly mentioned by name,Isa. xliv. 28. " The Lord 
saith of Cyrus, he is my shepherd, and shall perform 
all my pleasure ; even saying to Jerusalem, thou shalt 
be built ; and to the temple, thy foundation shall be 
laid." Even the length of their captivity had been 
foretold by the same prophet, before the destruction of 
the city, and after they were carried away captive to 
Babylon. " At the end of seventy years the Lord will 
punish the king of Babylon.*' Again, " Thus saifh the 
Lord ; after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon, 
I will visit you, and perform my good word towards 
you, in causing you to return to this place." 

It is too plain to be denied, that from the first year 
of Nebuchadnezzar, when the first carrying away of 
Judah took place, to the first year of Cyrus, when the 
Jews returned, was exactly seventy years, being the 
time foretold by the prophets. 

As the destruction of the city and first temple — also 
the rebuilding thereof, had been foretold by the ancient 
prophets; so, also, we find the calamities which have 
since fallen upon Jerusalem and the temple, were fore- 
told by Jesus Christ, and are recorded by three of the 
evangelists. (Matt, xxiv; Mark xiii, and Luke xxi.) 

In Luke, Christ declares, "The days shall come 
upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about 
thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on 
every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, 
and thy children within thee, and they shall not leave 



234 * AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

in thee one stone upon another — because thou knewest 
not the day of thy visitation." 

That these things accordingly did take place, cannot 
easily be gainsayed — Josephus (who was himself an 
eye witness) having largely recorded the same in his 
history of the Jewish wars. 

Our Saviour has also spoken of awful events prece-* 
ding the destruction of the city — as recorded in Luke 
xxi. 11. "And great earthquakes shall be in divers 
places, and famines, and pestilences, and fearful sights, 
and great signs shall there be from heaven." 

Hugo Grotius has reckoned up many earthquakes 
which happened in the reigns of Claudius and Nero, 
(and therefore preceded the destruction of Jerusalem,) 
at Crete, Smyrna, Miletus, Chios, Samos, Laodica, 
Hierapolis, and Colossee. And Josephus relates, that 
in Judea, there happened vehement winds, dreadful 
thunderings and lightnings, and vast movings of the 
shaken earth. There was a famine in the fourth year 
of Claudius, which, according to Eusebius, oppressed 
the Roman empire, and Palestine in particular. Jose- 
phus speaks largely of fearly sights and great signs, 
saying — That a great sword seemed to hang over the 
city, or a comet pointing down upon it, for a year, 
which plainly seemed to portend their destruction by 
the sword. And that before the sun went down, there 
were seen in the clouds armies in battle array, and 
chariots encompassing the country and investing their 
cities, which there are, saith he, men still living to at- 
test. That the great gate of the temple, which twenty 
men could scarcely shut, and which was made fast with 
bolts and bars, was seen to open of its own accord. 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 235 

That at the ninth hour of the night, at the feast of un- 
leavened bread, as great a light shone-upon the temple 
and the altar, as if it had been noonday. That at the 
feast of Pentecost, when the priests went at midnight 
into the temple to attend their service, they first heard 
a kind of noise as of a movement from the place, and 
then a voice, saying, " Let us go hence. " 

This account Tacitus, a Roman, has thus epitomised: 
Armies seemed to meet in the clouds ; weapons were 
seen glittering there ; the temple seemed to be on a 
flame of fire from the clouds — and a divine voice was 
heard that the Deity was quitting the place, and a great 
motion as of his departing. 

He that shall compare the words of our Saviour with 
those of Josephus, concerning the Jewish wars, cannot 
but admire the wisdom of Christ, and own his predic- 
tions to have been divine. 

2. The next city we shall mention, whose fate was 
foretold by the holy prophets, is Nineveh. 

This city was for many ages, the head of the Assy- 
rian empire. Its foundation was laid by Nimrod, grand 
son of Ha??i, who went out from Babel into the land of 
Assur, (the son of Shem) and conquering it, built 
Nineveh. It was fifteen miles square, laying on the 
east side of the river Tigris. The walls were one 
hundred feet high, and so broad that three coaches 
might meet and safely pass each other on the top. It 
had fifteen hundred towers on its walls, which were two 
hundred feet high, and fourteen thousand men were em- 
ployed eight years in building them. It contained about 
one million two hundred thousand inhabitants. 

Now, the prophet Nahum, says, chap. ii. 5, 6 — "He 



236 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISIATNITY. 

shall count his worthies ; they shall stumble in their 
walk ; they shall make haste to the wall thereof, and 
the defence shall be prepared. But, behold ! the gates 
of the city shall be opened, and the palaces shall be 
dissolved. 7 ' Accordingly, it is reported by Diodorus 
Siculuj, that when the Chaldeans besieged Nineveh, 
a mighty deluge of waters overflowed and overthrew 
the wall by the space of twenty furlongs, by which the 
besiegers entered the city. As the seat of government 
was removed to Babylon, Nineveh was deserted, and 
became at first a place for birds and wild beasts, and 
lastly a fold for flocks to lie down in. 

3. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah, predicted 
the fate of Tyre ; which predictions were fulfilled when 
Alexander the Great took the city and burned it with 
fire. The place where this famous city stood, is now 
properly a place for fishermen to spread their nets upon, 
as was foretold — as all travelers agree that there are 
only a few families there, who gain a scanty livelihood 
by fishing. 

4. Babylon, too, was a subject of prophecy. But one 
prediction need be mentioned in relation to its fate. In 
Isaiah, chap, xiii, it is said, that " Babylon, the glory 
of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldean excellency, 
shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah* 
Neither shall the Arabian pitch his tent there; neither shall 
the shepherds make their fold there ; but wild beasts of 
the desert shall lie there, and their houses shall be full of 
doleful creatures, and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs 
shall dance there ; and the wild beasts of the island 
shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 237 

pleasant places ; and her time is near to come, and her 
days shall not be prolonged." 

This prophecy was fulfilled, when the city was taken 
by the Medes and Persians, under the command of Cy- 
rus, and his uncle Darius. Belshazzar was slain and 
the kingdom was turned to the Medes and Persians ; 
and soon Babylon began to be neglected. Afterwards 
(it is said) Alexander the Great purposed to repair it, 
and make it the capital of his empire ; but he dying 
there in a drunken fit, his successors removed the seat 
of their government to Antioch. The city being thus 
abandoned, the houses deserted and neglected, it first 
became a habitation for wild beasts and owls ; after- 
wards, the waters not being kept in their proper chan- 
nels, in that evil country, overflowed, and it became a 
■pool of waters ; its broad walls fell down, and it became 
a total desolation ; and so completely is it now swept 
from the face of the earth, that e^ en its exact situation 
is scarcely to be discovered. So that it may properly 
be said, in the language of the prophet, to be swept 
with the besom of destruction. 

Time would fail to speak of Zidon, of Damascus, 
Ar, Heshbon, No, Noph, and other cities : we shall 
therefore — 

II. Notice some of those predictions, which relate to 
the Messiah. 

The great object of the prophecies of the Old Testa- 
ment is the redemption of mankind. 

This, as soon as Adam's fall had made it necessary, 
the mercy of God was pleased to foretell. And as the 
time for its accomplishment drew near, the prediction 
concerning it gradually became so clear, *hat almost 



238 AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 

every circumstance in the life and character of the 
most extraordinary personage that ever appeared among 
men, was most distinctly foretold. 

The prophecies announcing the Messiah are numer- 
ous, pointed, and particular. 

A Messiah was to come. — Prophecy: Gen. iii. 15, 
He (the seed of the woman) shall bruise thy head, and 
thou shalt bruise his heel. 

Compare Gen. xxii. 18, xii. 3, xxvl 4, xxviii. 4, and 
Psal. Ixx. 17, Isa. xl. 5. The glory of the Lord shall 
be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. Hag. 
ii. 7. The desire of all nations shall come. 

Fulfilment, Gal. iv. 4. When the fullness of time 
was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, 
(four thousand years after the first prophecy was deliv- 
ered.) Rom. xvi. 20. The God of peace shall bruise 
Satan under your feet shortly. 1 John iii. 8. The Son 
of God was manifested that he might destroy the works 
of the Devil, (that old serpent, Rev. xii. 9.) See, also, 
Heb. ii. 14, Luke ii. 10. I bring you good tidings of 
great Joy, which shall be to all people. 

The time when he should come. — Prophecy: Gen. 
xlix. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, 
nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come. 
The Messiah was to come at a time of universal peace, 
and when there was a general expectation of him; and 
while the second temple was standing, seventy weeks 
(of years, that is 490 years) after the rebuilding of 
Jerusalem. See Hag. ii. 6 — 9; Dan. ix. 23 — 25: 
Mai. iii. 1. 

Fulfilment. — When the Messiah came, the sceptre 
had departed from Judah; for the Jews, though govern- 



AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 239 

ed by their own rulers and magistrates, yet were sub- 
ject to the paramount authority of the Roman emperors, 
as was evinced by their being subject to the enrollment 
of Augustus, paying tribute to Csesar, and not having 
the power of life and death. Compare Luke ii, 1, 3, 5 : 
Matt, ii, 20, 21: and the parallel passages; and John 
xx. 10, 15. When Jesus Christ came into the world, 
the Roman wars were terminated, the temple of Janus 
was shut, and universal peace reigned throughout the 
Roman empire; and all nations, both Jews and Gentiles, 
were expecting the coining of some extraordinary per- 
son. See Matt, ii, 1 — 10; Mak. xv. 43: Luke ii. 25, 38: 
and John i, 19 — 45, for the expectation of the Jews. 
The two Roman historians, Suetonius and Tacitus, 
confirm the fulfillment of the prediction, as to the expect- 
ation of the Gentiles. 

The dignify of his character — thatthe Messiah should 
be God and Man together. 

Prophecy.— Psal. ii. 7. Thou art my son, this day 
have I begotten thee, Jsa. 1 j ii. 3. A man of sorrows, 
and acquainted with grief, Isa. 18, 6. The mighty God, 
the everlasting Father, &c. Mic. 5, 2. Whose goings 
forth have been from of old, from everlasting. 

Fulfillment.— Reb. 2, 8. "Unto the Sou, he saith, 
Thy throne O God, is forever and ever." 

Math. L 23. They shall call his name Emmanuel, 
that is, God with us. John i, 1, 14. And the Word 
was God. The Word was made fesh and dwelt among 
us. Rom. ix. 5. Of whom (the fathers) as concerning 
the flesh Christ came, who is God over all, blessed 
forever. See also Col. ii. 9: 1 John v. 20. 

From whom he was to be descended. — Prophecy. 
V 



240 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

From the first woman Gen. iii. 15. From Abraham 
and his decendants, Gen. xii. 3, xviii. 18, viz: Isaac, 
Gen. xxvi. 4: Jacob, Gen. xxviii. 14 Judah. Gen. xlix, 
10: Jesse, Isa. xi. 1: David, Psal. cxxxix. 4. 27; Isa. 
vi. 13, 14, ix. 7: Jer. xxiii. 5, and xxiii. 20, 21. 

Fulfillment. — Gal. iv. 4. When the fullness of time 
was come, God sent forth his son, made of a -woman. 
Acts iii. 25. The covenant which God made with our 
fathers, saying unto Abraham. "And in thy seed shall 
all the nations of the earth he blessed. See Matt. i. 1. 
Heb. vii. 14. It is evident that our Lord sprang out of 
Judah. Rom. xv. 12. Isaiah saiih there shall be a root 
of Jesse. John vii. 42. Hath not the scripture said, 
that Christ cometh of the seed of David. See also 
Acts ii. 30, xiii. 23: Luke i. 32. 

'That the Messiah should be born of a Virgin. — Pro- 
phecy.— Isa. vii. 14. Behold a virgin shall conceive 
and bring forth a son. 

Fulfillment. — Matt. 22, 23. All this was done, that 
it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by 
the prophet, saying. "Behold a virgin shall be with 
child, and shall bring forth a son." 

The place where the Messiah was to be born — Pro- 
phecy. — Mic. v. 2. Thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though 
thou be little among the thousands of Judah; yet out of 
thee shall he come forth unto me, Ho that is to be ruler 
in Israel. 

Fulfillment. — Luke ii. 4 — 6. All went to be taxed 

(or enrolled,) every one into his own city. And Joseph 

also went up from Galilee, with Mary his espoused wife, 

unto Bethlehem, and while they were there, she brought 

forth her first born son. 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 241 

That a prophet, in the spirit and power of Ellas, or 
Elijah, should be the Messiah's forerunner and prepare 
his way. 

Prophecy. — Malachi iii. 1, and iv. 5: Isa. xl. 3: Luke 
i. IT. Behold I will send my messenger, and he shall 
prepare my way before me. 

Fulfillment. — Matt. iii. 1. In these days came John 
the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, say- 
ing, repent ye, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, Matt. 
xl. 14: Luke vik 27, 28. This is Ellas which was for 
to come. 

That he should begin to publish the Gospel in Gal- 
ilee. — Prophecy. — Isa. ix. 1, 2. In Galilee of the 
nations, the people that walked in darkness have seen 
a great light. 

Fulfillment. — ZVIatt. iv. 12, 17. Now when Jesus 
heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into 
Galilee. From that time Jesus began to preach and to 
repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 

That the Messiah should confirm his doctrine by great 
miracles. — Prophecy. — Isa. xxxv. 5, 6. Then the eyes 
of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf 
shall be trnstopped; then shall the lame man leap as a 
hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing. 

Fulfillment. — Matt xi. 4, 5. Jesus said "Go and show 
John those things which ye do hear and see: the blind 
receive their sight, and the lame walk; the lepers are 
cleansed, and the deaf hear." 

In ichat manner the Messiah was to make his public 
entry into Jerusalem. — Prophecy. — Zach. ix. 9. Re- 
joice greatly, O daughter of Jerusalem, behold thy king 
cometh unto thee; he is just, and haying salvation, 



242 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY 

lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt, the 
foal of an ass. 

Fulfillment.— Matt. xxi. 7—10. The disciples brought 
the ass and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and 
set him (Jesus) thereon. And great multitudes spread 
their garments, &c. &c. Matt. xxi. 4, 5. All this was 
done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the 
prophet, saying: Tell ye the daughter of Zion. "Be- 
hold the king cometh," &c. &c- 

The circumstances of his death. — 1. That the Mes- 
siah should be poor and despised, and be betrayed by 
one of his own disciples, for thirl}/ pieces of silver; (at 
that time the ordinary price of the vilest slave;) with 
which the potters field should be purchased. 

Prophecy. — Isa. liii. 3. Ps. xli. 9, and Ps. iv. 12 — 14. 
Zach. xi. 12, 13. 

Fulfillment. — Luke ix. 58. 2 Cor. via. 9v Jofaa xk 
35. Matt. xxvi. 14. Matt, xxvii. 3—8. 

2. That the Messiah should suffer pain and death for 
the sins of the World. — Prophecy. — PsaL xxii. 16, 17. 
For dogs, (that is the heathens, whom the Jews called 
dogs,) have compassed me. The assembly of the 
wicked have enclosed me, they have pierced my hands 
and my feet. I may tell all my bones; they look and 
stare upon me, Isa. 1,6. I gave my back to the smite rs^ 
and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I 
hid not my face from shame and spitting. Isa. liii. 5, 8. 
He was wounded for our transgressions: he was bruised 
for our iniquities: by his stripes we are healed* He 
was cut off out of the land of the living: for the trans- 
gression of my people was he stricken. Isa. liii. 12. 
And he bare the sin of many. 



« AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 243 

Fulfillment. — Johrfxix. 1, 2. Then Pilate took Jesus, 
and scourged him. And the soldiers platted a crown 
of thorns — and they smote him with the palms of their 
hands. Matt, xxvii. 30: Mark xv. 19. And they did 
spit upon him, and smote him on the head. Mark xv. 
25. And they crucified him. 1 Pet. ii. 23, 24. Who, 
when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffer- 
ed, he threatened not. Who hare our sins in his own 
body on the tree — (the cross.) 

3. That the Messiah should he cruelly mocked and 
derided. 

Prophecy. — Psalm xx. 12, 13, 7, 8. Many bulls 
have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan (that is the 
wicked and furious Jews, who like the beasts fattened 
on the fertile plains of Bashan) "Waxed fat and kicked, 
(became proud and rebellious,) have beset me round. 
They gaped upon me with their mouths as a ravening 
and roaring lion. All they that see me laugh me to 
scorn; they shoot out the lip, saying, he trusted in God 
that he would deliver him; let him deliver him, seeing 
he delighted in him. 

Fulfillment.— Mat xxvii. 39, 41, 42; Mark xv. 31, 32; 
Luke xxiii. 35, 38. And they that passed by reviled 
him, wagging their heads. Likewise also, the chief 
priests, and the rulers also with them, derided, and 
mocking said among themselves, with the scribes and 
elders, He saved others, himself he cannot save ; if he 
be the Christ, the chosen of God, let him now come 
down from the cross, and save himself, that we may see, 
and we will believe in him. He trusted in God ; let him 
deliver him now if he will have him ! And the soldiers 
y# 



244 AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 

also mocked him, saying, If thou be the King of the 
Jews, save thyself. 

4. That vinegar and gall should be offered to the 
Messiah upon the cross; and that his garments should 
be divided, and lots cast for his vesture. 

Prophecy. — Ps. lxix. 21. They gave me also gall 
for my meat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to 
drink. Ps. xxii. 18. They part my garments among 
them, and cast lots upon my vesture 

Fulfillment. — John xix. 29 ; Matt, xxvii. 48 ; Mark 
xv. 36. And they filled a sponge with vinegar, and 
put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. John xix. 
23, 24. And the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus t 
took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier 
a part, and also his coat ; now the coat was without 
seam, they therefore said, let us not rend it, but cast 
lots whose it should be. 

5. That not a bone of the Messiah should be broken ; 
but that his side should be pierced. 

Prophecy. — Ps. xxxiv. 20. He keepeth all his bones, 
not one of them is broken. — Zech. xii. 10. And they 
shall look upon me whom they have pierced. 

Fulfillment. — John xix. 32 — 34. Then came the 
soldiers and brake the legs of the first, and of the other 
which was crucified with him ; but when they came to 
Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake 
nit his legs. But one of the soldiers with a spear 
pierced his side, and forthwith there came out blood and 
water. 

6. That the Messiah should die tcith malefactors, and 
he buried honorably. 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY'. 245 

Prophecy, — Isa. liii. 9. And he made his grave with 
the wicked, and with the rich in his death. 

Fulfillment. — Matt xxvii. 38, 57 — 60. Then were 
there two thieves crucified with him. There came a 
rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph, and begged the 
body of Jesus ; and he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 
and laid it in his own new tomb. 

7. That the Messiah should rise from the dead, and 
ascend into heaven. 

Prophecy. — Ps. xvi. 9, 10. My flesh shall rest in 
hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, (the 
separate state of departed spirits,) neither wilt thou 
suffer thine holy one to see corruption. — Ps. lxviii. 18. 
Thou hast ascended up on high ; thou hast led captiv- 
ity captive ; thou hast received gifts for men, that the 
Lord God might dwell among them. 

Fulfillment. — Acts ii. 31. (David) spake before of 
the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in 
hell, (Hades, or the separate state,) neither did his flesh 
see corruption. See also Acts xiii. 35 ; Matt, xxviii. 5, 
6. The angels said unto the women, ' He is not here, 
for he is risen, as he said.' See Luke xxiv. 5, 6 ; 
1 Cor. xv. 4. He rose again the third day according 
to the scriptures. — Acts i. 3. He showed himself alive 
after his passion by many infallible proofs. — Mark xvi. 
19 ; Luke xxiv. 51; Acts i: 9. So then after the Lord 
had spoken to them, while he was blessing them, and 
while they beheld, he was parted from them, and carried 
up into heaven, and sat at the right hand of God. Com- 
pare, also, 1 Pet. iii. 22; 1 Tim. iii. 16; Heb. vl. 20. 

8. That the Messiah should send the Holy Spirit, the 
Comforter. 



946 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

Prophecy. — Joel ii. 28. I will pour out my Spirit 
upon all flesh ; and your sons and your daughters shall 
prophecy. 

Fulfillment. — See all these promises and predictions 
fulfilled in Acts ii. 1 — 4; iv. 31; viii. 17; x. 44; xi. 11.* 

From examination we find that Jesus Christ's own 
predictions, in reference to his sufferings, death, res- 
urrection, ascension, &c, perfectly accord with the 
above predictions of the prophets ; and were fulfilled in 
every respect. 

Besides these predictions of the prophets concerning 
the Messiah, we find a great number that refer to his 
offices, and that are peculiarly applicable to him, and 
none other. He was to be a Prophet and Teacher, to 
teach and enlighten mankind. He was to be the Mes- 
siah, Christ, or Anointed of God, to preach good tidings 
unto the meek. He was to be a Priest, to make recon- 
ciliation for the sins of the people. He was to be a 
Saviour, that he might save all that believe in his name. 
He was to be a Mediator, that he might mediate be- 
tween God and men ; an Intercessor, that he might inter- 
cede for transgressors. Messiah was to be a Shepherd, 
that he might take care of his flock. He was to be a 
King, superior to all others, the Head and Ruler of the 
Church. Yea, he was to be the King of Kings and 
Lord of Lords. In concluding this head, we remark: 

That the manner in which the evangelical historians 
showed the fulfillment of the prophecies by Christ, is 
remarkable, for they did not apply them with hesitation, 
as if they were doubtful concerning their sense, or un- 

* See Home's Introduction, where a more extensive list 
of prophecies, with their fulfillment, is given. 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 247 

decided as to their object. Their boldness of assertion 
bore the stamp and character of truth. They had the 
clearest proofs that their Master was the Messiah, and 
therefore were fully persuaded that all the prophecies 
centered in him. They appear to have had no concep- 
tion that this evidence could, in the nature of things, be 
referable to any one else ; and therefore they pressed 
the arguments drawn from the Old Testament upon the 
minds of the unconverted, with all the sincerity of con- 
viction, and all the authority of truth. 

We have given, in the two preceding lectures, a con- 
cise view of the predictions contained in the Old Testa- 
ment, concerning the Author of the christian religion, 
Such a variety of circumstances, therefore, predicted 
concerning one person, so many years before he was 
born, and of such an extraordinary nature — all accom- 
plished in Christ, and in no other person that ever ap- 
peared in the world — point him out, with irresistible 
evidence, as the Messiah, the Saviour of mankind. If 
only one single man had left a book of predictions con- 
cerning Jesus Christ, and had distinctly and precisely 
marked out the time, place, manner, and other circum- 
stances of his advent, life, doctrine, death, resurrection, 
and ascension ; a prophecy, or series of prophecies, 
so astonishing, so circumstanced, so connected, would 
be the most wonderful thing in the world, and would 
have infinite weight. But the miracle is far greater : 
for here is a succession of men, for four thousand 
years, who were widely separated from each other by 
time and place, yet who regularly, and without varia- 
tion, succeeded one another to foretell the same event. 
Here, therefore, the hand of God is manifest ; and 



248 AUTHENTICITY Otf CHRISTIANITY. 

Jesits Christ is evidenced to be the Messiah. Since the 
beginning of the world, all the prophecies have been 
present to his mind ; he has taken from them all that 
seemed contradictory, when not considered in respect to 
him ; he has equally accomplished them, whether the 
things they predicted concerning him were humiliating 
or divine ; and has demonstrated that he is the center 
and end of them all, by reducing them to unity in his 
own person* 

Further ; by the accomplishment of the prophecies, 
which is the particular and incommunicable character 
of Jesus Christ, all seducers or messiahs, whether past 
or future, are convicted of imposture. A few consid- 
erations will fully prove this point. 

There is but one deliverer promised, and to one only 
do the scriptures bear testimony. Whoever, therefore, 
has neither been promised nor foretold, can be* nothing 
but an impostor; and whoever cannot ascend as high as 
the first promise, or grounds himself upon scriptures 
less ancient than those of the Jews, stands convicted of 
imposture by that circumstance alone, either because he 
has no title, or has only a false one. 

All the prophets foretold what the Messiah was to do 
and suffer. There can, therefore, be no doubt between 
him who has done and suffered what the prophets fore- 
told, and him who has no knowledge of their predic- 
tions, or has not fulfilled them. 

Among the predictions of the prophets, there are 
some that cannot be repeated, and which are so annexed 
to certain times and places, that they cannot be imitated 
by a false Messiah* It is necessary, for instance, that 
the true Messiah should come into the world before the 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 249 

destruction of the second temple, because he was to 
teach there. It was necessary that he should lay the 
foundations of the church in Jerusalem, because from 
Mount Sion it was to be diffused over the whole world. 
Finally, it was necessary that the conversion of the 
Gentiles should be his work, or that of his disciples, 
since it is by this visible mark that the prophets point 
him out. 

Now the temple is no more ; Jerusalem is possessed 
by strangers ; the Jews are dispersed, and Gentiles are 
converted. It is clear, therefore, that the Messiah is 
come : but it is not less manifest, that no one else can 
repeat the proofs which he has given of his coming ; 
and consequently, no one else can accomplish what 
the prophets foretold would be fulfilled by the Messiah. 
The dispensation of prophecy appears to have been 
accommodated with great wisdom to the state of the 
church in every age, to comfort the people of God, and 
to confirm their faith, according as they and the state of 
religion required it. On Adam's fall ; on Abraham's 
separation from an idolatrous world ; on the dispensa- 
tion of the new economy by Moses; on the Babylonish 
captivity ; and on the commencement of Christianity, 
prophecies were communicated with a growing light, 
and they will become more and more luminous with the 
progress of events to the end of the world. 

V\ r hat stronger evidence can we require for our con- 
viction 1 Or what will avail, if this be found ineffectual? 
If we reject the evidence of prophecy, neither would 
we be persuaded though one rose from the dead. 

III. What can be plainer ? We see, or may see, 
with our own eyes, many of the scripture prophecies 



250 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

accomplished. Besides the fulfillment of predictions 
concerning ancient kingdoms, nations, and cities, and 
those which relate to the Messiah, we will just add, that 
the prophecies by Daniel and others, concerning the 
kingdom of the Messiah, have been strikingly fulfilled. 
It was established at the time, in the place, and by the 
one appointed. It has gained the ascendancy over many 
other kingdoms. It has met with opposition. It has 
spread rapidly and extensively. It has retained its 
original characteristics, amid the rise, progress, glory 
and decline of other kingdoms. It was to be a spiritual 
kingdom, and it was to abide forever. None can survey 
it, and contemplate its stability and glory, without being 
constrained to cry out, " Great is the Holy One in the 
midst of thee !" 

And while infidels are making powerful exertions to 
overthrow this kingdom, their own wicked conduct is a 
fulfillment of prophecy. For the apostle of Christ tells 
us, that in the latter days some shall depart from the 
faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrine of 
devils, and even deny the Lord that bought them. Our 
conclusion, therefore is, that if scripture prophecies are 
accomplished, the scriptures must be the word of God ; 
and if the scriptures are the word of God, the christian 
religion must be true. 



LECTURE XL 

Authenticity of Christianity, shown from a correct 
estimate of its early success, and the preserva- 
tion of the church. 

A correct estimate of the early success of Christianity, 
and the preservation of the church in all ages of the 
world, present additional evidence of the divine origin 
and truth of that religion we are endeavoring to au- 
thenticate. 

L Let us notice the evidence derived from the early 
success of Christianity, 

It would be most inconclusive to infer the supernatu- 
ral origin of Christianity from the mere fact of its 
success ; inasmuch as some of the greatest impostures 
the world ever knew have obtained, for many ages, a 
most powerful and extensive dominion over the human 
mind. 

The early prevalence of the gospel is, in itself, no 
decisive proof of its divine origin. Ere it can be re- 
garded as such, a number of circumstances must com- 
bine with the fact of its success, which admit of no just 
or rational solution but the admission of the finger of 
God. The question then is, did such circumstances 
evince themselves in the early triumphs of Christianity ? 
W 



252 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

And, if they did, wherein did they consist ? and how 
do they admit of being exhibited in the shape of a con- 
clusive argument for the truth and divinity of the chris- 
tian religion ? 

We have already proved that Jesus of Nazareth was 
put to death in the reign of Tiberius, by the order of 
Pontius Pilate, his procurator. It is a fact equally true, 
that as early as the time of Claudius, who died within 
twenty years of the crucifixion, the religious assemblies 
of Christians were proscribed under open pretext that 
they were drawing men from the worship of the gods, 
as confirmed by Tacitus. It is a fact, that in the reign 
of Nero the followers of Christ endured persecutions 
of the most fearful kind, and that this wicked despot 
endeavored to fix upon them the stigma of burning 
Rome, though it was justly and loudly charged on him- 
self. It is a fact, that Pliny, the younger, a proconsul 
under the emperor Trajan, who was contemporary with 
Ignatius, and who flourished about seventy-five years 
after the death of Christ, describes the christian assem- 
blies in Bythinia and Pontus as consisting of a vast 
multitude, of all ages and sexes ; and speaks of Chris- 
tianity as an inveterate superstition which had spread 
itself not only through cities, but over villages and the 
whole country. 

Julian, A. D. 361, though he endeavors to lessen the 
number of the early believers in Jesus, yet is constrained 
to acknowledge that there were multitudes of such men 
in Greece and Italy before John wrote his Gospel ; and 
that they were not confined to the lower classes — men 
of character, such as Cornelius, a Roman centurion at 
Cesarea, and Sergius Paulus, proconsul at Cyprus, 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 253 

being converted to the faith of Jesus before the end of 
Claudius' reign. 

Porphyry, A. D. 270, acknowledges that Christians 
were very numerous in the Roman empire; and it is a 
fact, that christian churches were established in every 
province of the Roman empire within a very brief pe- 
riod of the death of Christ, and that thousands and tens 
of thousands of new converts maintained, with unsha- 
ken confidence, their adherence to the facts and promises 
of the gospel, amidst the heaviest persecutions and ca- 
lamities that ever befell mortals in this life. 

It is a fact, that the first propagators of Christianity 
were only fishermen of Galilee, and that they sought 
and obtained no human power in the prosecution of their 
undertaking. It is a fact, that the experiment of Chris- 
tianity was made in one of the most enlightened and 
refined periods in the history of the world, and on a 
theater which laid it open to the inspection of all Greece 
and Rome. It is a fact, that the first messengers of 
the cross entered into no compromise with the vices and 
corruptions of mankind, but that they denounced every 
system of evil, and sought to win men's applause by 
bringing them to perceive and acknowledge the exquisite 
loveliness of truth, and by teaching them to submit to a 
course of religious and moral discipline, which made 
them kind and forgiving, peaceful and holy. It is a 
fact, that the doctrine taught by the apostles of Jesus 
of Nazareth was in many respects new ; that it pro- 
claimed facts of a strictly miraculous nature ; lhat it 
sternly opposed every existing system of religion ; that 
it rebuked and condemned those vices and depraved 
habits which universally prevailed ; that, nevertheless, 



254 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRJSIATNITY. 

it rapidly spread, and in less than three centuries sub- 
verted the religion of pagan Rome, and established 
itself on the throne of the Csesars. 

Had Christianity been adapted to the depraved inclina- 
tions of the human heart ; had it flattered men's pride, 
ambition, and vain glory ; had it promised or secured 
worldly honor and prosperity; had it been hailed by the 
great and noble of mankind ; had it been supported by 
human power, and defended by the swords and shields 
of the earth ; had conquering armies been its heralds, 
and the spoils of enemies its rewards; its success would 
then have been no mystery, and its triumphs would then 
have afforded no proof of supernatural influence. 

But if the reverse of all this were the case ; if Chris- 
tianity had nothing in it to pamper human corruption ; 
nothing to minister to the pride of the human heart ; no- 
thing to present to its disciples in the shape of worldly 
allurement; nothing to draw around it men of high 
renown ; nothing of power to terrify or subdue; nothing 
to support the courage of its professors, but the testi- 
mony of a good conscience and the hopes of a better 
life ; what shall be said if after all it triumphed? Yes, 
if, while it opposes itself to all the world, it prevail, 
what shall be said ? Let us look at the facts of this 
case, and impartially determine if there was any thing 
merely human in the original agencies of Christianity, 
to account for the results which followed their employ- 
ment. The results are these : The whole Roman 
empire, in a few short years, was pervaded by the gos- 
pel ; multitudes of Jews and Pagans were won over to 
the sincere belief of the facts of Christianity; the very 
aspects and institutions of society were completely 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 255 

changed and remodeled by the new doctrine; the flames 
of persecution were borne with exemplary fortitude, 
patience and forgiveness; the cause triumphed by means 
of its very disasters; and the power which attempted to 
crush it, at last yielded to its influence. 

Such are the results — and what are the apparent 
agencies by which they were effected ! The doctrine 
of one who was crucified at Jerusalem between two 
thieves ; the preaching of a few iLiterate fishermen of 
Galilee ; and the exemplary zeal and consistency of 
those who ranked themselves as the disciples of the 
cross. 

If, then, the agencies of Christianity were merely 
human, or if they were nothing more than a system of 
deliberately adjusted imposture, how comes it to pass 
that there was so little in the apparent process to account 
for the effect produced ? If all was of man, how did it 
happen that a scheme so constituted obtained a footing 
among mankind ] Was it so easy a thing to subvert 
Jewish prejudice, in the very city of Jerusalem, and to 
silence the oracles of heathenism where they had ruled 
with despotic sway, that twelve fishermen, just quitting 
their nets, and determining to become the founders of a 
new religion, should be deemed equal to the task ? Let 
such a case be imagined to take place in our own nation. 
For if Christianity be not from heaven, nothing forbids 
the success of such another experiment on the credulity 
of mankind note, any more than formerly. But does 
any one in his sober senses believe that it could succeed, 
or that it would produce even any considerable impres- 
sion ? We have had, it is true, occasional excitement, 
produced by certain extravagant persons ; but their 
W* 



250 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY* 

partial success has mainly depended upon their appeal 
to the general data of Christianity, and upon their pro- 
fessed adherence to its cardinal doctrines. We might 
challenge all the philosophers that ever lived, to invent, 
or to propagate any imposture answering to the char- 
acter of Christianity. The thing is impossible. Its 
facts and its success are solitary examples in the history 
of our world. Paganism, and the religion of the False 
Prophet, have nothing in common with them. The 
former accumulated its materials by a progressive de- 
parture from all right notions of the moral character of 
God, and by its marked coincidence with every thing 
base and polluted in human nature ; and the latter was 
propagated at the edge of the sword, and amidst all those 
promises of sensual indulgence which are so grateful 
to a nature prone to the love of sin. But Christianity 
stood forth in the spotless purity of its divine Author, 
and refused to own any as its true disciples who re- 
mained under the dominion of their crimes. It assailed 
men with none of the weapons of human power, but 
made its triumphant appeal to the understanding and the 
heart. It boasted of no earthly patronage ; but went 
forth in a secret and hidden power, which was "mighty 
to the pulling down of strong holds." All weakness in 
its exterior agencies, it became the wisdom of God, and 
the power of God, to the salvation of thousands and 
tens of thousands who embraced its merciful provision.-. 
It changed the very face of society, and effected revo- 
lutions in the manners, customs, and laws of mankind, 
which all other systems had failed to achieve. It is un- 
philosophical, in the highest degree, to trace its early 
prevalence to the mere influence of ordinary and sec- 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 257 

ondary causes. There is no problem in the world's 
history bearing the least resemblance to it. The expe- 
rience of all mankind supplies no illustration of any 
thing like the success of Christianity, springing from 
mere human instrumentality, whether well or ill directed. 
Must men then acknowledge a miracle, in their zeal to 
get rid of a miraculous history? This is indeed very 
preposterous ; but it is, nevertheless, the condition to 
which those reduce themselves who would attempt to 
account for the mighty revolution produced by Chris- 
tianity upon mere natural principles. They discard the 
doctrine of miracles— they repudiate the testimony by 
which the miraculous facts of the gospel are handed 
down to mankind; but they call upon their disciples to 
believe, without a tittle of evidence, that the fishermen 
of Galilee could have done all that they did, and that 
Christianity could have gained all its conquests, without 
the slightest aid from heaven — nay, though imposture 
and deception were written on the entire undertaking. 
We demand of them an illustrative example, and we 
are sure that they cannot produce it. In the absence, 
then, of all experience to guide our course, and in oppo- 
sition to all enlightened calculations of what human 
agency can effect, in certain given instances, we are 
called upon by infidels to believe that the early success 
of Christianity might be traced to the operation of sec- 
ondary causes. 

To the mind of any unprejudiced person, this will 
present all the startling difficulty of a miracle, without 
any of that credible testimony by which alone a miracle 
can be shown to have taken place. 

It is nothing short of an insult offered to the understand- 



258 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY 

ing of men, first to point them to the great moral and 
intellectual revolution which was produced by Christian- 
ity, within a short period of the death of its founder, 
and then to assign as its sole case, the zeal, energy, 
and talent of the fishermen of Galilee; and the credu- 
lity, love of novelty and versatility which obtain among 
mankind. 

Upon every skeptical theory, the early triumphs of 
the gospel are not only unaccounted for, but totally un- 
accountable. Such a change was never wrought by 
mere human means. The entire experience of the 
race, and all the great facts of history, combine to 
show the utter irrationality of supposing that a few 
obscure fishermen and mechanics could have baffled all 
the wisdom of the wise, brought to nothing the counsel 
of the prudent, and leveled in the dust the mightiest 
fabrics of superstition and vice. 

But when we admit the doctrine of a supernatural 
influence, according to the distinct announcements of 
Christianity itself, we are reminded of a cause ade- 
quate to produce the effects witnessed. Then we won- 
der not that the weakest instruments should prevail, 
that disaster should lead to triumph, and that the blood 
of the martyrs should be the seed of the Church. If 
the mighty power of God was with the apostles, no 
wonder that thousands should become obedient to their 
message. If the quickening of the living Spirit was 
seen, on the one hand, in external signs and wonders, 
rendering all gainsayers inexcusable; and, on the other 
hand, in inward, powerful, and all-subduing movements 
of the heart and conscience, what wonder was it if the 
congregated mulitudes of Pentecost trembled, repented, 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 2L9 

and turned to God; and if the Pagan world responded 
to the mighty and gracious impulse? 

By the nature of the facts to be accounted for, then, 
no less than by the actual data of Christianity, are we 
driven to the conclusiou, that there was an interior and 
hidden, but all-controlling power, which accompanied 
and rendered effectual the early propagation of Chris- 
tianity, which lias watched over it from age to age, and 
which occasions all its success and all its blessed influ- 
ence in the day in which we live. 

But should it still be contended that the success of the 
apostles may be accounted for without reference to 
supernatural aid; let the question be answered why, 
when the same human means have since been employed 
in so many instances, nothing even approximating to 
the same results has ever ensued ? 

Jews are found at present .as numerous as ever. 
Some of the strongest obstacles which opposed the 
success of the gospel among them, in the apostolic age, 
do not now exist. They have no religious establish- 
ment; no regular priesthood; no power to persecute. 
Christianity, on the other hand, is established. Instead 
of appearing to the Jews as a thing of yesterday, advo- 
cated but by a few obscure men, as she did of old, 
she now presents herself under the sanction of eigh- 
teen centuries, illustrated by the learning of her disci- 
ples, professed by all civilized nations. It cannot be 
said that less human effort, in the aggregate, has been 
employed for the conversion of the Jews, than was used 
by the twelve apostles. Much more money has been 
expended; much more learning has been devoted; much 
more human power has been exerted ; many more in- 



260 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

dividuals have been employed. The same gospel has 
been preached. The same arguments have been urged. 
And why should not corresponding effects appear? 
There is reason to think that there were more Jews 
converted by the apostles in one day, than have since 
been won over in the last thousand years. 

The simple explanation is and must be, that the great 
power of God was with the apostles for the establish- 
ment of the truth, in a degree far greater than that in 
which it is now vouchsafed to his ministers in promot- 
ing the wide extension of the truth. 

From the Jews turn to the heathens. There is no 
reason to believe that the heathenism of the present day 
is any more opposed to the propagation of Christianity, 
than that of the world in the age of the apostles. In- 
stead of twelve, there are hundreds of laborers in the 
field — men of education, talent, indefatigable zeal, un- 
daunted devotion. The art of printing has furnished 
them with facilities of which the apostles, unless it be 
conceded that they possessed the miraculous gift of 
tongues, were entirely destitute. The scriptures are 
now circulated in full, while in the days of St. Paul, the 
canon being incomplete, they were circulated only in 
parts. Id addition to all this, Christianity is recom- 
mended among many heathen nations, by the political 
importance of the countries from which its preachers 
have gone, and in some, by the actual co-operation of 
christian powers ruling in the midst of pagan institu- 
tions. With these important advantages; what is the 
success of present efforts among the heathen? Enough, 
indeed to reward all the zeal expended in their support; 
enough to show that still the power of God is with the 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 261 

gospel, and that ample encouragement is given for all 
the increase of effort which christians can ever bestow 
on the heathen; but nothing comparable with the suc- 
cess of the apostles. Paul was instrumental in convert- 
ing more heathens, in thirty years, then all modern 
missionaries in the last five hundred. 

Explain this fact! It is absurd to attempt it, in view 
of all the circumstances of the case, except you admit 
the solution of Paul himself — "I have planted, and 
Apollos watered; but God gave the increase" Without 
this grand truth, "God gave the increase" Chris- 
tianity would have perished on the cross with its 
founder. 

We have now set before you a miracle, the evidence 
of which no eye can be too blind to see: Christianity 
universally propagated; and yet propagated by no 
earthly influence but that of the apostles. 

This is the miracle. It is as directly contrary to the 
laws of nature and to universal experience, as if, at 
the word of man, the desert of Arabia should bad and 
blossom like a fruitful garden, or the sepulcher give up 
its dead. As long as this one fact, the propagation of 
Christianity, shall remain, the gospel will be supported 
by a pillar of evidence which infidels can only remove 
by taking away the foundation of all inductive evidence, 
and bringing down the whole temple of human knowl- 
edge to their own destruction. Now, in conclusion, 
let us see what an unbeliever must believe in consist- 
ency with his profession. He must believe that the 
apostles were either such weak-minded men as to ima- 
gine that their crucified Master had been with them, 
from time to time, during forty days after his burial, 



262 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

had conversed with them, and eaten with them, and 
that they had every sensible evidence of his resurrection, 
while in truth he had not been near them, but was still 
in his sepulcher; or else that they were so wicked and 
deceitful as to go all over the world preaching that he 
w r as risen from the dead, when they knew that it was 
a gross, fabrication. Suppose the unbeliever to choose 
the latter of these alternatives. 

Then he believes, not only that those men were so 
singularly attached to this untruth as to give themselves 
up to all manner of disgrace, persecution, and labor, 
for the sake of making all the world believe, it, know- 
ing that their own destruction could be the only conse- 
quence; but also, what is still more singular, that when 
they plunged, immediately at the outset of their min- 
istry, into an immense multitude of those, who having 
lately crucified the Saviour, were full of enmity to his 
disciples; they succeeded, without learning, eloquence, 
power, or a single conceivable motive, in making three 
thousand of them believe that he, whom they had seen 
on the cross, was indeed alive again; and believe it so 
fully, as to renounce every thing, and be willing to 
suffer any thing, for the sake of it, and this on the 
very spot where the guards that had kept the sepulcher 
were at hand to tell what was become of the body of 
Jesus. 

He must believe, moreover, that although in attempt- 
ing to propagate a new religion to the exclusion of 
every other, they were undertaking what was en- 
tirely new, and opposed to the views of all nations; 
although the doctrines they preached were resisted by 
all the influence of the several priesthoods; all the power 



AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 263 

of the several governments; all the passions, habits, 
and prejudices of the people; and all the wit and pride 
©f the philosophers of all nations; although the age 
was such as insured to their fabrications the most intel- 
ligent examination, with the strongest disposition to 
detect them, although, in themselves, these infatuated 
men were directly the reverse of what such resistance 
demanded, and when they commenced, were surround- 
ed by circumstances of the most depressing kind, and 
by opposers specially exulting in the confidence of 
their destruction; although the mode they adopted was 
of all others most calculated to expose their own weak- 
ness and dishonesty, and to imbitter the enmity and 
increase the contempt of their opposers, so that they 
encountered every where the most violent persecutions, 
till torture and death were almost synonymous with the 
name of Christian; although they had nothing to pro- 
pose, to Jew or Gentile, as a matter of faith, but what 
the wisdom of the world ridiculed, and the vice of the 
world hated, and all men were united in despising; 
although they had nothing earthly with which to tempt 
any one to receive their fabrication, except the necessity 
of an entire change in all his habits and dispositions, 
and an assurance that tribulations and persecutions 
must be his portion. Yet, when philosophers, with all 
their learning, and rank, and subtlety, and veneration, 
could produce no effect on the public mind, those ob- 
scure Galileans obtained such influence, throughout the 
whole extent of the Roman empire, and especially in 
the most enlightened cities, that, in thirty years, what 
they themselves (by the supposition) did not believe, 
they made hundreds of thousands of all classes, philos- 
X 



264 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

ophers, senators, governors, priests, soldiers, as well 
as plebeians, believe, and maintain unto death; yea, they 
planted this doctrine of their own invention so deeply 
that all the persecutions of three hundred years could 
not root it up; they established the gospel so perma- 
nently that in three hundred years it was the established 
religion of an empire co-extensive with the known 
world, and continues still the religion of all civilized 
nations. This, says the unbeliever, they did simply by 
their own wit and industry; and yet, he well knows that 
preachers of the gospel, with incomparably more learn- 
ing, with equal industry, in far greater numbers, and 
in circumstances immeasurably more propitious, have 
attempted to do something of the same kind among 
heathen nations, and could never even approximate to 
their success. Still the apostles had no help but that of 
their own ingenuity and diligence! Such is the belief 
of the unbeliever. 

To escape acknowledging that the apostles were aided 
by miraculous assistance, he makes them to have pos- 
sessed in themselves miraculous ability. To get rid of 
one miracle in the work, he has to make twelve mira- 
cles, out of the twelve agents of the work. The Chris- 
tian takes a far different course. 

"Paul planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the 
increase." The weapons of their warfare icere not 
carnal, but mighty thought God, to the pulling down of 
strong holds. To which solution, philosophy or com- 
mon sense would award the prize of rational decision, 
it is easy to determine. The argument from the propa- 
gation and success, of Christianity is not yet complete. 
Satisfactory already, it is yet to receive an immense 



AUTHENTICITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 265 

accession of strength* "The wilderness and the solitary 
place"-— the immense regions of Pagan and Mohamedan 
desolation, shall yet be glad for the blessings of the 
gospel, and the desert rejoice and blossom as the rose. 

II. Add to the early success of Christianity the pre- 
servalion of the church, the long existence of which 
must be pronounced, upon common principles of rea- 
soning, impossible. She finds in every man a natural 
and inveterate enemy. 

To encounter and overcome the unanimous hostility 
of the world, she boasts no political stratagem, no 
disciplined legions, no coercion of any kind, yet she 
expects to live forever. To mock this hope and to blot 
out her memorial from under heaven, the united strength 
of empires, has been frequently and perseveringly ap- 
plied. The blood of her sons and daughters has stream- 
ed like water. The tribes of persecution have sported 
over her sons, and erected monuments, as they ima- 
gined, of her perpetual ruin. But where are her 
tyrants, and their empires? The tyrants have long 
since gone to their own place; their empires have pass- 
ed, like shadows over the rock. They have succes- 
sively disappeared, and left not a trace behind. But 
what becomes of the church? She rose from her ashes 
fresh in beauty and might. She dashed down the mon- 
uments of her foes, and they who hated her, fled be- 
fore her. She has celebrated the funeral of kings and 
kingdoms, that plotted her destruction; and, with the 
inscriptions of their pride, has transmitted to posterity 
the records of their shame. 

How shall this phenomenon be explained? We now 
witness the fact! but who can unfold the mystery? The 



266 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY, 

book of inspiration has made our wonder to cease, 
"TAe Lord her God, in the midst of her, is mighty/ 7 
Armed with divine virtue, his gospel silent and unob- 
served, enters the hearts of men and sets up an ever- 
lasting kingdom. 

It eludes all the vigilance, and baffles ail the power 
of the adversary. Bars and bolts and dungeons are no 
obstacles to its approach; bonds, and tortures, and death, 
cannot extinguish its influence. Let no man despair 
(in these days of rebuke and blasphemy) of the chris- 
tian cause. Christ hath said, "Upon this rock will I 
build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail 
against it" Let her enemies tremble and her friends 
rejoice! 

The early success of Christianity under such unto- 
ward circumstances, and the preservation and stability 
of the church of God, amid fire, faggots, tears, and 
blood, must stand as incontrovertible evidence of the 
operation of divine power and authenticity of the 
christian religion. 



PART THIR». 

UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 



LECTURE XII, 
Christianity confers on the world great literary 

BENEFITS IS BENEVOLENT IN ITS CHARACTER AND 

OPERATIONS AND HAS A POWER AND TENDENCY TO 

REFORM MANKIND. 

The utility of Christianity, is a very important division 
of the subject under consideration ; and we cannot 
overlook it, without doing injustice to the cause of truth. 
But here we enter a boundless field, never fully ex- 
plored by finite man, and to the full extent of which no 
human eye can ever penetrate. Yet enough may be 
seen to convince us that the field is extensive, sublime 
and fruitful. 

We have already, in some measure, anticipated the 
fruits, or utility of Christianity; yet it may be proper to 
consider, more particularly, the benefits it confers on 
mankind. And though we bring this under a third gen- 
eral division of the subject, for the sake of arrange- 
ment, yet we consider it only a continuation of the 
evidence by which the truth and divine authority of 
Christianity are established. This is evidence, seen and 
read of all men, wherever the gospel has exerted an 
X* 



263 UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

influence— evidence, the force of which every man must 
feel, who carefully examines it — evidence, such as we 
might expect to see connected with a religion sent from 
heaven — evidence, the infidel world would be glad to 
blot from the page of history, and which has caused 
their system of religion, built upon false philosophy, to 
tremble to its center — evidence, that has kindled anew 
the songs of angels, and caused the sons of God to 
shout aloud for joy. We shall notice, 

I. The literary "benefits conferred on the world by 
Christianity, 

The most polished nations now in existence, are in- 
debted to Christianity for the preservation and diffusion 
of literature, and the elegant arts of painting, statu- 
ary, architecture, and music. Christianity has been 
instrumental in preserving and disseminating moral, 
classical, and theological knowledge, in every nation 
where it has been established. The law, the gospel, the 
comments on them, and the works of the fathers, were 
written in Hebrew, Greek or Latin ; so that a knowl- 
edge of these three languages became indispensably 
necessary to every man who would be an intelligent 
Christian. 

Christianity being contained in books, the use of 
letters became necessary to its teachers ; nor could 
learning have been entirely lost, while there was an 
order of men who were obliged to possess a moderate 
share of it to qualify them for the priesthood, and entitle 
them to its emoluments. 

In the time of Tacitus, A. D. 108, the German na- 
tions were strangers to letters ; and the following facts 
prove that other nations were likely to continue illiterate, 



UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 269 

had not the teachers of the gospel exerted themselves 
for their instruction. 

The Goths, having made themselves masters of 
Athens, A. D. 270, brought together in one heap all the 
books they found there, and would have consumed the 
valuable treasure, had not one of them told his com- 
panions, that while the Greeks amused themselves with 
these, they neglected the art of war, and were easily 
overcome. 

Theodoric, a Gothic prince, A. D. 293, would not 
suffer the children of his subjects to be instructed in the 
sciences, imagining that such instruction enervated the 
mind, and rendered men unfit for martial exploits ; and 
that the boy who trembled at the rod, would never look 
undaunted on the sword or spear. But no sooner was 
Christianity propagated among barbarous nations, than 
they were taught the use of letters. 

Ulphilas, a Gothic bishop, A. D. 380, invented letters 
for his illiterate countrymen, translated the Bible into 
the vulgar tongue for their use, and instructed them in 
its doctrines; and some Goths soon became so well in- 
formed, that they compared their version with the Latin, 
the Greek, and the Hebrew originals. 

Before the introduction of Christianity into Ireland, 
the natives had no alphabet, no annals but their verses, 
their antiquities, the genealogies of their kings, and the 
exploits of their heroes. The more verses a man could 
repeat, the more learned he was deemed, while the bard 
who composed any thing new, was sure of being re- 
spected by the kings and people. This was the state of 
the Irish when the christian missionaries came to instruct 
them in the use of letters and in the truths of the gospel. 



270 UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY, 

Such a change, however, was wrought in them by 
Christianity and its teachers, that Ireland was styled the 
island of very pious and very learned men. Ansgari- 
ous, the chief apostle of the northern nations, not only 
preached the gospel to those barbarians, but established 
schools for the instruction of the youth in religion and 
letters. Cyril, and Methodius, who converted the Bul- 
garians, Moravians, and Bohemians, about the same 
time, previously invented the Slavic alphabet, and trans* 
Iated the Bible and some Greek and Latin authors into 
the Slavic tongue, for the purpose of expanding their 
narrow minds, and softening their hard hearts to mild^ 
ness and piety. 

Nearly the same may be said of other barbarians, 
who became proselytes to Christianity. In Russia, the 
teachers of Christianity recommended, at the same time, 
the gospel and letters; the rudiments of the arts, of law, 
and order ; and were seconded in their exertions by 
religious princes, who employed skillful Greeks for 
decorating the cities, and for the instruction of the 
people. A knowledge of the Greek and Roman clas- 
sics could not have been propagated so universally, had 
not the clergy found them necessary for understand- 
ing the scriptures and the works of the fathers. By 
these means, they possessed most of the learning 
of those times, and handed it down to their successors, 
who had the merit of collecting, transcribing, and 
preserving books, which otherwise must have per- 
ished, when a taste for erudition" was almost extinct, 
and the passion. of laymen was directed to arms. 

On the subversion of the Greek empire by the Mo- 



UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 271 

hammedans, in 1450, literature took refuge in the west 
of Europe, where many of the clergy were among its 
most strenuous supporters. At length, learning emerged 
from the silence of the cloister, whither she had re- 
treated, and where she had been preserved from destruc- 
tion ; and her appearance was followed by a revival of 
all the blessings which she so eminently bestows. The 
reformation promoted still more the cause of learning; 
and its general diffusion has been aided most signally 
by the discovery and almost universal adoption of the 
art of printing. The modern opposers of revelation, 
however, ascribe all our improvements to philosophy. 
But it was religion, the religion of Christ, that took the 
lead. The Reformers opened to us the scriptures, and 
broke all the fetters that shackled human reason. Phi- 
losophy crept humbly in her train, profited by her labors 
and sufferings ; and now ungratefully claims all the 
honor and praise to herself. But if we render honor 
and praise to whom they are due, we must give Chris- 
tianity the credit of doing more for the preservation and 
diffusion of ancient literature, than all the philosophy of 
Greece and Rome. 

Indeed, it may safely be remarked, that when all the 
literature and philosophy conferred upon the world by 
Christianity are taken away, there is but little left. 
Christianity can boast of the greatest scholars, the 
greatest philosophers, the greatest statesmen, the great- 
est patriots, heroes and poets, that ever graced the 
literary or the moral world ! 

It is a matter of astonishment, that an attack should 
ever be made upon Christianity, on the score of litera- 
ture, when a large number of names, among clergy and 



272 UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

laymen, will be handed down with honor, as the bene- 
factors of mankind, while the names of Paine, Hume, 
Hobbes, Voltaire, and all the vile horde of sciolists, 
shall be damned to fame, as base calumniators of the 
sacred writings, and the characters of men, with whom, 
even in point of literature, they are no more worthy to 
be compared, than a dwarf with a giant. What shall 
we say, when such scholars as Barrow, Cudworth, 
Wilkins, Pearson, Durham, Flamstead, Hales, Bently, 
Bochart, Mede, Baxter, Chillingworth, S. Clarke, Berke- 
ley, Butler, Warburton, Watts, Doddridge, Lowman, 
Jorton, Lardncr, Withe rspoon, Robertson, Newton, 
Locke, Wesley, A. Clarke, Watson, and a thousand 
others, both living and dead, are involved in this un- 
founded censure ? Will any one dare assert, that these 
men were M too ignorant to embrace infidelity V 9 — that 
Christianity is embraced only by the illiterate, and that 
it has not proved a blessing to man, even in a literary 
point of view ? Christianity has not only given the 
means, but has prepared the way, for the diffusion of 
scientific knowledge, and all the blessings of civiliza- 
tion. 

The literary benefits conferred on the world by 
Christianity, are concisely but forcibly stated by Dr. 
Jorton. " To whom," says he, "are we indebted for 
the knowledge of antiquities, sacred and secular ; for 
every thing that is called philology? To Christians. 
To whom for grammars and dictionaries of the learned 
languages ? To Christians. To whom for chronology, 
and the continuation of history through many centuries? 
To whom for rational systems of morality and natural 
religion ? To christians. To whom for improvements 



UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY". 273 

in natural philosophy, and for the application of these 
discoveries to religious purposes ? To Christians. To 
whom for metaphysical researches, carried as far as 
the subject will permit ? To Christians. To whom for 
the moral rules to be observed by nations in war and 
peace ? To Christians. To whom for jurisprudence, 
and political knowledge, and for settling the rights of 
subjects, both civil and religious, upon a'proper founda- 
tion I To Christians — not to Atheists, or Deists, some 
of whom (as Hobbes in particular) have been known 
advocates for tyranny. 

II. Christianity is a benevolent institution in its char- 
acter and operations. 

While it has produced the effects already adverted to, 
and prescribes the best rules for promoting family 
peace, domestic and individual happiness, it has also re- 
moved the great obstacles which have often impeded 
th -m. 

The condition of the inferior and dependent ranks 
of society has been ameliorated; and every varied form 
of human misery finds some alleviation from the active 
diligence of private benevolence, and the munificent 
provisions of public charity. 

The heathen had no public places for the accomoda- 
tion of the sick, the poor, the widow, or the orphan, nor 
was there a single hospital in the whole heathen world ; 
whereas every christian country abounds with charita- 
ble institutions for those humane purposes. The flow 
of divine benevolence proceeding from this pure source, 
has scarcely left any means untried, (especially in Eu- 
rope and America,) for meliorating the sufferings of the 
poor ; it has erected asylums for almost every form of 



274 UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

human misery, for all the children of the needy, that 
come under its observations, for the destitute and house- 
less ; it has extended itself to the abodes of guilt and 
crime, and has attempted to put within the reach of the 
prisoner all the comforts that are compatible with the 
strict claims of justice ; and it has even reached the 
inferior animals, by procuring for them a gentle treat- 
ment, and constituting them objects of legal protection. 
In vain may we search in the writings of pagan or in- 
fidel moralists for exhortation to benevolence like this : 
not a word is to be found in Cicero's Officiis, of active 
and liberal law to the poor, to slaves, to criminals, to 
the brute creation — in short, to any except friends and 
relations, or for mere worldly or selfish motives ; and 
if modern moralists do better, Christianity may claim 
the praise. 

What terminated the horrid gladiatorial massacres 
and murders, which destroyed so many thousands of 
unhappy persons among the Romans ? Christianity. 
What has protected widows and orphans against injus- 
tice ; the weak against the powerful in suits at law ; 
the goods and persons of the shipwrecked against plun- 
derers ; and in short, every description of persons 
against the distress which would otherwise have over- 
whelmed them ? Christianity. Hence, we discover, 
that in Christianity, the most degraded and disconsolate 
can find an asylum. True benevolence streams forth 
in all its precepts and operations. It breathes love to 
God, and good will to men, wherever found. 

III. Christianity has a power and tendency to reform 
mankind. 

We trust that we have already made it appear, that 



UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 275 

natural religion, and infidelity in their different modifi- 
cations, were perfectly inadequate to reform mankind.* 
And d the christian religion is unable to produce this 
much desired and necessary object, we may despair of 
ever seeing it accomplished. But, even a partial sur- 
vey of the effects of Christianity on the lives of men, 
and the great change in the moral state of things, since 
its introduction among us, show that it is fully compe- 
tent to reform the most profligate, and render society 
pleasant and prosperous. This need not be wondered 
at, when we reflect, that Christianity is of such a nature 
as to admit of being brought home, individually, with con- 
vincing and transforming power, to every man's bosom. 
This is what may be termed experimental evidence. 
Evidence, which every man may be conscious of in his 
own breast, and discover in the lives of others. Where 
is the man who ever betook himself to Christianity, 
without finding it to be the refuge of his weary and 
restless mind 1 Who could ever, upon actual trial, 
charge it with a lack of faithfulness to its own preten- 
sions ? Who ever embraced its animating hopes, with- 
out finding it productive of peace, and purity, and joy? 
Who ever became a true Christian without feeling the 
self-evidencing power of the Gospel ? Who ever be- 
lieved on the Son of God, without having proof, in his 
own heart, that the Bible is true ? Who ever made 
actual trial of Christianity, without finding it to be the 
4 the wisdom of God, and the power of God, ? to the 
salvation of his soul ? Who ever knew the truth as it 
is in Jesus, without being made free by it from the 

* See Lecture St. 



276 UTILITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 

thraldom of sin and the bondage of corruption 1 The 
man who is a genuine believer, is as fully conscious, 
as he is of existence, that Christianity is no cunningly 
devised fable. It has established its throne in the deep 
seated convictions of his heart. He has felt the trans- 
formation it has wrought: ' old things are passed away; 
behold all things are become new. ? His entire character 
has been favorably affected by it. Upon his once 
gloomy path it has shed the light of immortality ; and 
in his own person he beholds a monument of the truth 
and excellence of Christianity, which forbids him for- 
ever to doubt. By other evidences, indeed, his faith is 
confirmed; but in his peace of mind, in that hope which 
is full of immortality; and in the heavenward bearing 
of his once earthly character, he is enabled to feel that 
Christianity is to him, all that it professes to be. As 
the transforming power of the gospel, has been more 
strikingly exhibited in the conversion of heathens and 
infidels, than others who were not so violently opposed 
to it, we shall introduce a short list of each, as illustra- 
tions of the subject under consideration ; recollecting, 
however, that these are only examples, while thousands 
and tens of thousands might be added to the list, to 
strengthen this branch of christian evidence. The 
greater the sinner, the more powerful and visible must 
be their conversion and reformation. 

While heathen mythology and infidel philosophy have 
ever failed to reform the moral character of their adhe- 
rents, many, both learned and unlearned, both noble and 
ignoble, both rich and poor, both Mohammedans and Pa- 
gans, both Atheists and Deists, can testify that the gos- 
pel has proved the power of God to their salvation. 



UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 277 

1. We read of Aristides, Quadratus, Dionysius, 
Athenian philosophers ; Flavius Clemens, of the Ro- 
man senate ; Justin Martyr, Tertulian, Lactantius, and 
Arnobius, who were early converts to Christianity. 
And Turtullian tells the Roman governors, that their 
corporations, councils, armies, tribes, companies, the 
palace, senate, and courts of judicature, were filled 
with Christians ; as Arnobius asserts, that men of the 
finest parts and learning, orators, grammarians, rheto- 
ricians, lawyers, physicians, philosophers, despising 
the sentiments they had been once fond of, took up 
their rest in the christian religion. Many of these 
were brilliant lights in the moral world, and unhesita- 
tingly died the death of martyrs. But we need not con- 
fine our researches to the early days of Christianity, to 
find subjects of its saving and reforming influence. 
These modern times can furnish many examples. Go 
no farther than to the Wyandot nation of Indians, at 
Upper Sandusky, and you can discover many trophies 
of redeeming grace. 

Hear the experience of one of that tribe, as related 
by himself to the Rev. Charles Elliott, missionary 
among that tribe a few years since : 
. " When I first," said Between-the-Logs, to Mr. Elli- 
ott, M embraced Christ's religion, my brother Bloodv- 
Eyes, was exceedingly mad against me for leaving the 
eld religion, and for taking up with this new religion. 
He often endeavored to persuade me to quit this new 
religion, by all the arguments in his power, as he loved 
me much, and was anxious for my welfare. I argued 
with him in this way : Brother, you know that before I 
embraced Christ's religion, I was a very wicked man, 



278 UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY, 

as we all were then. I used to get drunk, and in a 
drunken fit I killed my first wife. I also was guilty, 
like others, of a great many other sins. Brother, you 
know these things were so. But you also know, bro- 
ther, that since I became a Christian, Jesus saved me 
from these and all my other sins : and now, brother, I 
find great peace in my soul. My burden of sin is taken 
away. The Great Spirit came down into my heart. 
I feel very happy in being a Christian. I would recom- 
mend this religion to you, brother. I would recommend 
it to every one of our nation — it would do us all good. 

" When my brother, Bloody-eyes, could not persuade 
me to leave this new religion, as he called it, he began 
to be very mad at me. He forgot all the good feeling 
that a brother should have to a brother. He came to 
the full determination to kill me. He came to me, and 
said, brother, unless you will give up this new religion, 
I will kill you. I said, brother, the gospel is the power 
of God to my salvation ; and Christ himself said, he 
that loveth life more than me, is not worthy of me. 
If you kill me, I cannot help it. I cannot deny Christ. 
He loved me so well as to die for me, (and for you, too, 
brother,) therefore I cannot forsake his religion. This 
made him madder yet. He often repeated his threats, 
and I always gave him the same answer; for God made 
me very strong, and I found it easier to die than to deny 
my Saviour, who died for me. 

"One day, while I was in my cabin, and standing on - 
the floor, I saw a man at a distance across the plain, 
coming towards me. After a little I knew it was Bloody- 
Eyes. A little after, I saw he was armed as a war- 
rior, just as when he and I fought in the wars, side by 



UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 279 

side. When he came a little nearer, I knew, from his 
walk, then his actions, and lastly his looks, that he was 
determined to kill me. I then thought — will I deny 
Christ ? My heart said no — for the gospel is the 
power of God, to my salvation ; and, unless I am will- 
ing to give up my life for Christ's sake, I am not wor- 
thy of him. If I die, let me die. Bloody-Eyes entered. 
He seized this long hair (catching his hair in his hand,) 
with his left hand, and wrapped it round his hand. He 
took hold of his tomahawk in his right hand, and raised 
it up, as prepared to strike. He then furiously cried 
out, 4 Brother, unless you give up this new religion, I 
will kill you.' 

"I said to him, mildly, (for I felt very happy, and 
had no fear,) * Brother, if you kill me, you may kill 
me ; but I cannot give up Christ's religion/ I went on 
to exhort him ; his countenance fell ; his hand that held 
my hair fell down ; his hand with the tomahawk fell 
down also, as if powerless, by his side. I still exhorted; 
he began to appear more confused ; he did not say one 
word more to me ; he stood awhile longer, looked at 
me, and then went out of the house, and proceeded 
home. He has never molested me since. I hope and 
pray he may get religion. I have prayed much for 
him." 

He did get religion ! Soon after this, at a meeting 
held by Mr. Elliott, Bloody-Eyes was found among the 
penitents invited to the altar for prayers, whose conver- 
sion is thus described by Mr. Elliott, an eye witness : 
'•Bloody-Eyes came, among others, and kneeled down 
just before me, with the bench between us, and lifted up 
his eyes to heaven, crying, Jesus, sementera — Jesus, 
Y* 



230 UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

have mercy! Just a little before this time, Between-the- 
logs, Mononque, and Hicks, went to the corner of the 
house, where Deunquat and the Cherokee sat trembling; 
Between-the-logs stood over the head chief, with his 
arms around his neck, entreating him to turn to Christ. 
Mononque kneeled before him, and prayed aloud for 
God to save Deunquat, who trembled like Belshazzar. 
John Hicks was equally engaged with the Cherokee. 
Between-the-logs did not yet notice his brother. We 
commenced singing, 

'Come ye sinners, poor and needy/ 

in Wyandot and English. I kneeled down beside 
Bloody-Eyes, who was crying to God for mercy. He 
seized me fast round the neck, in his earnestness and 
agony of soul. I then remembered what his brother 
told me three or four weeks before. But the hands that 
held his brother's hair and the tomahawk, were then 
clasped round my neck, and the bench between us — 
the mouth and tongue that threatened death to a brother, 
were now employed in seeking mercy. I prayed, in 
English, for the murderer especially, and in general 
for all then seeking God's mercy. But it is impossible 
to write these things — I cannot approach a description. 
We prayed on. I entirely forgot what the chiefs were 
about; but I lifted my head after prayer, and glanced 
towards Deunquat. Between-the-logs then turned his 
face towards me, and caught a sight of me ; he also 
saw his brother beside me. In the twinkling of an eye 
he was with us — his arms around both our necks — all 
suffused in tears — all praying. After a moment's re- 
collection, I said, let all the congregation pray. Brother 



UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 281 

Between-the-logs, pray for these penitents, but espe- 
cially for Bloody-Eyes. Such a prayer! What inter- 
cession ! There was glory there that could be touched 
and seen. What melting accents were uttered then! 
Between-the-logs was directly before the mercy-seat — 
then he seized on the horns of the altar — then he em- 
ployed such wrestling as Jacob had with the angel of 
the covenant, and cried, I will not let thee go till thou 
bless my brother, Bloody-Eyes ! Surely God heard 
prayer that very moment. If the sacrifice consumed 
with God's own fire, or the temple filled with the glory 
of the Lord, or the utterance of tongues at Pentecost, 
declared that God was present and heard prayer, surely 
it was equally certain to us all then, (and the conviction 
is now as strongly engraven on the tablet of my very 
soul as it was then,) that God manifested his glory, and 
converted the murderer's soul. 

Many more of the Wyandot nation have been happily 
converted to God, reformed in their lives ; and have 
adopted the manners and customs of civilization. Be- 
tween two and three hundred profess Christianity, and 
are ornaments to the church and to the world. Several 
other tribes have also, either in whole or in part, em- 
braced the christian religion ; and several belonging to 
the different tribes, are now preaching the everlasting 
gospel. We might produce many other examples from 
among the aborigines of our own country, to show the 
reforming power of the gospel ; but our limits will not 
admit of enlargement. 

Add to the above the conversion of Sabat and Abdal- 
lah, two Mohammedans of Arabia. The following are 
some of the most interesting facts concerning them, as 



282 UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

given by Mr. Buchanan : — " These two friends left 
Arabia, after paying their adorations at the tomb of their 
prophet at Mecca, and traveled through Persia, and 
thence to Cabul. Abdallah was appointed to an office 
of state under the king of Cabul, and Sabat left him 
there and proceeded on a tour through Tartary. While 
Abdallah remained at Cabul, he was converted to the 
christian faith, by the perusal of a Bible (as is supposed) 
belonging to a Christian from Armenia, then residing 
at Cabul. In consequence of its being death in the 
Mohammedan states, for a man of rank to become a 
Christian, Abdallah left Cabul -in disguise, and had 
gained the great city of Bochara, in Tartary, when he 
was met in the streets of that city by his friend Sabat, 
who immediately recognized him. Sabat had heard of 
his conversion and flight, and was filled with indignation 
at his conduct. Abdallah knew his danger, and at the 
feet of Sabat confessed that he was a Christian, and 
implored, by the sacred ties of their former friendship, 
to let him escape with his life. ' But, sir, (said Sabat, 
when relating the story himself,) / had no pity. I 
caused my servants to seize him, and I delivered him 
up to Morad Shah, king of Bochara. He w r as sentenced 
to die. An immense multitude, with the chief men of 
the city, attended his execution. He was offered his 
life, if he would abjure Christ — the executioner stand- 
ing by him with his sword in his hand. ' No,' said lie 
'I cannot abjure Christ.' Then one of his hands was 
cut off at the wrist. He stood firm, his arm hanging 
by his side, with but little motion. A physician, by 
desire of the king, offered to heal the w r ound if he would 
recant. He made no answer, but looked up steadfastly 



UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 283 

towards heaven, like Stephen, the first martyr, his eves 
streaming with tears. He did not look with anger to- 
wards me. He looked at me ; but it was benignly, and 
with the countenance of forgiveness. His other hand 
was then cut off. ; But, shy said Sabat, in his imperfect 
English, * he never changed; he never changed P And 
when he bowed his head to receive the blow of death, 
all Bochara seemed to say, what new tiling is thisT 

Sabat had indulged a hope that Abdallah would have 
recanted when he was offered his life; but when he saw 
that his friend was dead, he resigned himself to grief 
and remorse. He traveled from place to place, seeking 
rest and finding none. At last he came to Madras, in 
India. Soon after his arrival he was appointed by the 
English Government a Mufti, or expounder of the Mo- 
hammedan law — his great learning and respectable 
station in his own country, rendering him eminently 
qualified for that office. And now the period of his own 
conversion drew near. While he was at Yisagapatam, 
in the Northern Circars, exercising his professional 
duties, Providence brought in his way a New Testa- 
ment, in Arabic, (one of those copies sent to India by 
the " Society for promoting Christian Knowledge.**) He 
read it with deep thought, the Koran lying before him. 
He compared them together, and at length the truth of 
the word of God fell on his mind, as he expressed ir, 
like a flood of light, Soon afterwards he proceeded to 
Madras, a journey of three hundred miles, to seek 
christian baptism ; and having made a public confession 
of his faith, he was baptized by the Rev. Dr. Krer, in 
the English church at that place, by the name of Na- 
thaniel, in the twenty-seventh year of his age ; and has 



284 UTILITY OP CKRISIATNITY. 

since been engaged in translating the holy scriptures 
into Arabic, for the benefit of his degraded countrymen. 

2. We shall now notice the reforming power of Chris- 
tianity, as exemplified in the conversion of infidels* 
And we hope that this branch of evidence will have a 
proper bearing upon the minds of those who profess to 
be confirmed in infidelity, and others who may be halt- 
ing between two opinions. 

Without waiting to notice the thousands of Jews, who 
are a species of infidel, that have been converted to 
Christianity, and to lead holy lives, let us take a few 
modern infidels as examples, who have not only been 
changed in their sentiments, but reformed in their lives; 
and who have testified that Christ had power on earth 
to forgive sin, and fill them with "joy unspeakable and 
full of glory. " 

Charles Gildon, author of a book called the Oracles 
of Reason, was convinced of the fallacy of his own 
arguments against religion, and the danger of his situ- 
ation, by reading Leslie's Short Method with a Deist. 
He afterwards wrote a defence of revealed religion, 
entitled the Deist's Manual, and died in the christian 
faith. 

Lord Littleton, author of the History of Henry the 
Second, and Gilbert West, had both imbibed the princi- 
ples of unbelief, and had agreed together to write some- 
thing in favor of infidelity. To do this more effectually, 
they judged it necessary to acquaint themselves pretty 
well with the Bible. By the perusal of that book, 
however, they were both convinced of their error; both 
becanfe converts to the religion of Christ Jesus ; both 
took up their pens and wrote in favor of it — the former, 



UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 285 

his Observations on the conversion of St. Paul ; the 
latter his Observations on the Resurrection of Christ — 
and both died in peace.* 

Pringle, though blessed with a religious education, 
contracted the principles of infidelity. But after care- 
fully examining the principles of the gospel of Christ, 
a full coviction of its divine original and authority was 
produced in his mind. The evidence of revelation 
appeared to him to be solid and invincible ; and the 
nature of it to be such as demonded his warmest accept- 
ance. 

Soame Jenyns, was brought back from the paths of 
infidelity, into which he had wandered, by examining 
the grounds upon which his unbelief was founded; 
became a firm believer in the Saviour of mankind, and 
wrote a small treaties in defence of the Gospel, entitled, 
a View of the Internal Evidences of Christianity. 

John, earl of Rochester, was a great scholar, a great 
poet, a great sinner, and a great penitent. 

After having, for some time, been engaged in the 
black cause of atheism, he was convinced of his error, 
by the force of truth, renounced his infidelity, embraced 
Christianity; and ordered a recantation of his former 
principles, signed by his own hand, to be published after 
his death, which is now extant. When he drew near the 
last stage of his sickness, about three or four days be- 
fore his dissolution, he said: — "I shall now die: but, Oh; 



*Lord Littleton, on his death bed, said to hia physician. 
The evidences and doctrines of Christianity, studied with 
attention, made me a firm believer of the christian religion. 
I have made it the rule of my life, and — it is the ground of 
my future hopes. 



286 AUTHENTICITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

what unspeakable glories do I see! What joys, beyond 
thought or expression am I sensible of ! I am assured 
of God's mercy to me through Jesus Christ! Oh! how 
I long to die and be with my Saviour." 

Duncomb Colchester, also, made a public renunciation 
of infidelity, and embraced the christian religion. And 
the Rev. Thomas Scott, thus relates his own experience 
on this subject: — "I feel myself impelled to declare, 
that I once was not much more disposed to credit the 
Scriptures than Mr. Paine, but twenty years employed 
in diligently investigating the evidences and contents of 
the bible, have produced in me an unshaken assurance 
that it is the word of God." 

We have an account of the conversion of another 
determined deist to the faith of Christ, in six letters 
from a minister of the reformed church, to Mr. Newton 
of London. While he was unacquainted with God, he 
was guilty of secret impurities, and a stranger to peace. 
Like a ship in a storm without rudder or pilot, he was 
hurried along by tumultuous passions, till he grew weary 
of life. 

In such a state of soul, and at such a crisis, the light 
of heavenly truth broke in upon his mind. The Lord 
spake, and it was done. The storm was hushed. The 
man was powerfully, and unexpectedly changed. The 
servant of sin became the servant of Christ; and after- 
wards became a successful preacher of that faith which 
lie before labored to destroy. 

Struensee, prime minister of Denmark, while in 
prison, for certain misdemeanors, of which he had 
been guilty, declared, after being brought from a state 
of infidelity to a serious sense of his situation. The 



UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY, 287 

more I learn Christianity from scripture, the more I 
grow convinced, how unjust those objections are with 
which it is charged. I am fully convinced of the truth 
of the christian religion, and I felt its power in quieting 
my conscience, and reforming my sentiments. I own 
with joy, I find Christianity the more amiable, the more 
I get acquainted with it." Much more he said, in extol- 
ling the religion of the bible, 

Brandt, ihe companion of Struensee in guilt and mis- 
fortunes, with great freedom owned that his imprison- 
ment was the means of setting his soul at liberty. 
"For," said he, "when I believed myself to be free, I 
was a miserable slave to my passions; and now since I 
am a prisoner, truth and grace hath set me at liberty." 

He pitied the miserable condition of those that were 
under the yoke of unbelief and sin, which he himself 
had worn, and kept himself in it by reading deistical 
writings. He mentioned, among the rest, the works of 
Voltaire, to whom he owed very little that was good. 
He said he had spent upon his travels four days with 
this old advocate for unbelief, and had heard nothing 
from him but what could corrupt the heart and sound 
morals. 

He was very sorry for all this, but was much pleased, 
that he had found a taste for the true word of God, 
whose efficacy upon his heart, convinced him of its 
divine origin. 

Dr. Godman was an eminent anatomist and philoso- 
pher, but unfortunately, he formed his philosophical 
and religious opinions after the model of ihe French 
naturalists of the last century; the most distinguished of 
whom were deists and atheists ; and while assisted bv 
Z 



288 UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

such lights as these, and guided alone in his investigations 
by perverted reason, he became, as he tells us, an 
established infidel, rejecting revelation, and casting all 
the evidences of an existing God beneath his feet. 

In the winter of 1827, while engaged in his course of 
lectures in New York, he visited the death bed of a 
Christian; the death bed of a student of medicine. 
There he saw what reason could not explain, nor phi- 
losophy fathom. He opened his bible, and the secret 
was unfolded. From this time he became a devoted 
student of the scriptures. In a letter addressed to Dr. 
Judson, he says: — "I was once an infidel, as I told you 
in the West Indies. I became a Christian from convic- 
tion, produced by the candid inquiry recommended to 
you. I know of no other way in which death can be 
stripped of its terrors; certainly none better can be 
wished." The letter of which this is an extract, had 
its desired effect upon the mind of Dr. Judson, who also 
was entangled in the snare of infidelity, and who was, 
at the time he received the letter, in the last stage of 
consumption. He had no confidence but that of the 
skeptic — no hope but that of ceasing to be. Aware of 
the fatal nature of his disease, he had long been arming 
himself to meet the king of terrors with composure, 
that he might die like a philosopher — "vrith manly firm- 
ness;" but as he drew near to the grave, the clouds and 
darkness thickened around him, and he began to fear 
there might be something beyond this narrow prison. 
His infidelity began to give way, and he enquired with 
solicitude, "Is there such a thing as the new birth? 
and if so, in what does it consist?" lie at length con- 
sented to make the investigation recommended by Dr. 



UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 289 

Godman. He took up the New Testament and read it 
in the spirit of candid inquiry. A conviction of the 
truth of its doctrines fastened upon him. He now soli- 
cited the advice and prayers of a pious clergyman.* 
After a severe struggle, the clouds were dissipated, 
light broke in upon his mind, and he was enabled to 
take hold of the promises. The remaining days of his 
life were devoted to fervent prayer, and the constant 
study of the scriptures, which filled his soul with divine 
composure, and enabled him to rely with undoubting 
confidence on the infinite merits of his Redeemer, and 
with his last breath to cry, "Peace, peace/ 5 And the 
last words uttered by Dr. Godman, who had been in- 
strumental in his conversion, were, "Lord Jesus, re- 
ceive ?ny spirit.*' 

We might swell the list of those who have been res- 
cued from the opening and devouring jaws of infidelity, 
but our limits and your patience forbid an increase. 

Permit us to add. however, that there are many others 
who are "living epistles, known and read of all men." 
There are remaining monuments of God's converting, 
reforming grace, who can testify, that the christian 
religion, is not a "cunningly devised fable." And who 
have blessed God a thousand times that they ever heard, 
believed and obeyed the Gospel, while the hopes of im- 
mortality inspire them with ardour in the service of 
their God, and their lives exhibit the reforming influence 
of the christian religion. 

X - - .- . — 

*The Rev. William Rayland. 



LECTURE XIIL 

Christianity constitutes its votaries happy — but 

a small amount op evidence given evidence 

constantly increasing what has been given 

NEVER BEEN ANSWERED- — OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED 

INFIDELITY TOO LONG BEEN PERMITTED TO ATTACK 
CHRISTIANITY WITHOUT DEFENDING ITSELF CON- 
CLUSION. 

In continuing our remarks on the utility of Christianity, 
wo shall in the next place endeavor to show that it im- 
parts substantial happiness to its jiossessor. 

This is a very important item in the discussion of this 
subject. For we are bold to aver, that if happiness 
cannot be found in the belief, experience, and practice 
of Christianity, it is not to be found in the* wide universe 
of God. Other systems of religion have been embrac- 
ed; different plans have been adopted, and different 
means have been used by mankind, but happiness has 
not been the result. "There is no peace to the wicked," 
has been found by them, to be a solemn truth. 

But, we think that it will appear certain, to all who 
trace effects to their legitimate causes, that all the na- 
tional peace and prosperity; all the domestic comforts 
of civilization, and all the individual happiness enjoyed 
by man, flow from revealed religion as their great foun- 
tain and source. At all events, no man has ever failed 
of obtaining happiness when he made application for it 



UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 291 

in the way, and according to the rules prescribed by 
the Gospel. 

The religion of infidels, has been tested on a dying 
pillow; and has ever failed to impart support and happi- 
ness to its possessor, at the approach of death; and 
now let us take a look at the christian, in the same 
trving moment. Let his religion now be tested, and let 
his hopes and prospects be contrasted with those, who 
professed more wisdom, and made greater claims to 
reason and philosophy, than he. 

We commence with the great apostle of the Gentiles. 
After "glorying in tribulations, " and "rejoicing that 
he was counted worthy to suffer for Christ's sake," for 
many years, Paul says, to his son Timothy, just as he 
was about to be executed for his religion — "I am now 
ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at 
hand. I have fought a good fight — I have finished my 
course — I have kept the faith : henceforth, there is 
laid up for me a crotcn of righteousness, which the 
Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day." 
What confidence, what composure of mind, what resig- 
nation, what peace, and what prospects, are here ex- 
hibited ! 

Witness, also, Stephen, the first christian martyr. 
He prays for his wicked murderers, while they pour a 
shower of stones upon him : and the last words that 
fall from his lips, are — Lord Jesus, receive my spirit — 
while he gazes at the blest visions of eternal day, and 
makes his escape into the "bosom of his Father and 
his God." 

Passing over a host of christian martyrs, who tri- 
umphed in a dying hour, we shall now mention a few 
Z* 



292 UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY 

modern christians, who have died in the faith, and found 
Christianity their never failing support. 

Addison, was a very able and elegant advocate for 
the Bible, in life and death. Just before his departure, 
having sent for a young nobleman nearly related to 
him, who requested to know his dying commands — his 
answer was, " See in what peace a Christian can 
die !" 

Leland, after spending a long and exemplary life in 
the service of the gospel, closed it with the following 
words: "I give my dying testimony to the truth of 
Christianity. The promises of the gospel are my sup- 
port and consolation. They, alone, yield me satisfac- 
tion in a dying hour. I am not afraid to die. The 
gospel of Christ has raised me above the fear of death; 
for I know that my Redeemer liveth." 

Olympia Fulvia Morata, was one of the brightest or- 
naments of the reformation. She could declaim in 
Latin, converse in Greek, and was a critic in the most 
difficult classics. She became enamored of the scrip- 
tures, above ail other books in the world ; and when 
dissolution approached, she declared she felt nothing 
but u inexpressible tranquility and peace with God 
through Christ." Her mouth w?.s full of the praise of 
God, and she emphatically expressed herself by say- 
ing, " I am nothing but joy." 

Claude, during his last illness said : "I have care- 
fully examined all religions. None appear to me wor- 
thy of the wisdom of God, and capable of leading men 
to happiness, but the Christianas religion. The Protes- 
tant religion is the only good religion. It is found in the 
holy scriptures, the word of God," 



UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 298 

About a week before he died, he said to his son and 
family, " I am leaving you ; the time of my departure 
is at hand." He afterwards, said, " I know in whom 
I have believed ; my whole resource is to the mercy of 
God ; I expect a better life than this." 

The Rev. Samuel Walker, was a minister of no or- 
dinary rank in the church of Christ. When his disso- 
lution drew near, after much former darkness, but the 
most assured confidence in God, he broke out to his 
nurse in this rapturous expression : "I have been upon 
the wings of the cherubim ! Heaven has in a manner 
been opened to me ! I shall soon be there !" Next day, 
to a friend who came to see him, he said, with a joy in 
his countenance, more than words can utter, "O, had 
I strength to speak, I could tell you such news as would 
rejoice your very soul ! I have had such views of 
heaven ! But I am not able to say more." 

Hervey, was an excellent scholar, and a believer in 
the Bible, with its most distinguished truths. At the 
close of life, he said to those about him, " How thank- 
ful am I for death ! It is the passage to the Lord and 
Giver of life. O welcome, welcome, welcome death ! 
thou mayest well be reckoned among the treasures of 
the Christian ! To live is Christ — but to die is gain ! 
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in 'peace /" 

Leechman, late principal of the college of Glasgow, 
at the close of his life thus addressed the son of a wor- 
thy nobleman : " I am glad you have had an opportu- 
nity of witnessing the tranquility of my last moments. 
But it is not tranquility and composure alone ; it is joy 
and triumph ; it is complete exultation /" His features 
kindled, his voice rose as he spoke ; "and whence," 



294 UTILITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 

says he, "does this exultation spring? From that 
book, too much neglected indeed, (pointing to a Bible 
that lay on the table,) but which contains invaluable 
treasures ! treasures of joy and rejoicing ! for it makes 
us certain that this mortal shall put on immortality." 

Romaine, in his last illness, cried out, " I have the 
peace of God in my conscience, and the love of God in 
my heart ! Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty ! 
Glory be to thee on high, for such peace on earth, and 
good will to men.'' 

When the never to be forgotten John Wesley, came 
to die, his language was — 

"I the chief of sinners am, 
But Jesus died for me." 

M I'll praise my Maker with my breath," &c. 

Toplady, also, was supported with divine consolations 
during his last sickness. A few days before his death, 
he said to a friend, " O, what a day of sun-shine has 
this been to me ! I have not words to express it. It is 
unutterable. O, how good is God ! Almost without 
interruption, his presence has been with me. O, what 
delights ! Who can fathom the joys of the third 
heaven? The sky is clear ; there is no cloud ; come, 
Lord Jesus, come quickly." 

Janeway's dying words were : "If this be dying, 
dying is sweet. Let no Christian ever be afraid of dy- 
ing. Death is sweet to me! This bed is soft. Christ's 
arms, his smiles, and his visits, sure they would turn 
hell into heaven ! Come, and behold a dying man, 
more cheerful than ever you saw any man healthful in 
the midst of his sweetest enjoyments. Come, let us 



UTILITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 295 

lift our voice in praise. I have nothing else to do ; 
Hallelujah ! Salvation, glory, and honor, and power, 
unto the Lord our God ! And again we say, Hallelu- 
jah ! Methinks I hear the melody of heaven, and by 
faith I see the angels waiting to carry my soul to the 
bosom of Jesus, and I shall be forever with the Lord 
in glory." And who choose but to rejoice in all this ? 
His last words were, "Amen ! Amen !" 

General Washington, whose pious example is worthy 
of close imitation, when on his dying bed, said to his 
sympathizing, weeping friends around him, " Gentle- 
men I am dying, but I am not afraid to die." 

The immortal Bishop McKendree, in view of the 
past, the present, and the future, cries "All is well, all 
is well" and leaves the world in glorious triumph. 
While the talented, indefatigable Emory, with a falter- 
ing voice responds, "Amen!" steps from his earthly 
chariot,* into a chariot of fire, on which he rises to 
join the immortal throng in heaven. 

These are some of the glorious instances of the 
happifying influence of Christianity upon the mind of 
its possessor in the most trying circumstances. These 
instances are constantly increasing, and volumes might 
be filled with thejn to the eternal confusion of infidelity. 

We can defy all the sons of unbelief to show us an 
example of this kind, among all their brethren. Lives 



*Bishop Emory, is supposed to have been thrown from bis 
carriage, and killed, as he wis foimd near it in a senseless 
state, with his head much fractured. Just before he expir- 
ed, while a minister of Christ was praying, he revived a little, 
and whispered "Amen. ;r 



296 UTILITY OP CHRISTIANITY. 

so useful, deaths so great, so noble, so glorious, cannot 
be found in all their ranks. 

These are all matters of fact. Most of the persons 
mentioned, were of the first reputation in their respec- 
tive spheres of action. 

Contrast these triumphant and happy deaths, with the 
deaths of Voltaire, Paine, Altamont, and others of the 
infidel school, and then ask, "which is preferable?'*' 
Does not wisdom teach us to say, Let me die the death 
of the righteous? 

There are two very important considerations which 
ought always to be kept in mind. The first is, many 
Infidels have renounced their infidelity on a dying bed, 
and deeply regretted that they had not lived Christians. 
The second is, no Christian has ever been known, to 
renounce Christianity on a dying bed, or to regret that 
they had not lived infidels. 

Christians may regret that they have not been more 
faithful in the cause of their Master, but they are never 
sorry, when they come to die, that they embraced the 
christian religion. Let these facts be remembered by 
all, especially by unbelievers in Christ. 

2. Having extended our remarks beyond our intended 
limits, we must bring this compendium of christian 
evidence to a close. 

We do not however, close the subject, because the 
fountain of evidence is drained* For volumes could not 
contain, or ages disclose, all that God has done, to 
make known the riches of his grace to a fallen world, 
and induce mankind to be guided by the light of reve- 
lation. 

Evidence has been derived from the doctrines, morals, 



UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 297 

and worship of heathens; the defects of natural reli- 
gion, from the antiquity, harmony and connection, 
morality, purity of style, and miraculous preservation 
of the sacred scriptures; from the moral character of 
the prophets, Christ, and his apostles, and the uncor- 
rupted transmission of the inspired writings, from the 
nature and harmony of the doctrines taught in the 
divine rewards; from the testimony of ancient histori- 
ans concerning unusual events and facts recorded in 
scripture, from coins, medals, and ancient marbles, 
and from tradition; from miracles, types and prophecy; 
from the early success of Christianity, and preservation 
of the christian church; and from the benefits conferred 
on mankind by Christianity. But could we but see all 
the separate streams united in one; could we measure 
at once the force of that majestic tide which collects 
its innumerable tributaries from all ages, and all nations, 
and ail hearts; could we appreciate its strength by an 
accurate estimate of all the obstructions with which 
earth and hell, have endeavored to resist its course — 
the mountains of difficulty which, in every century, it 
has rent asunder, or rolled away to clear its course; 
we should wonder, indeed, at what divine goodness has 
done to make us believers, and at what human obduracy 
has been able to withstand for the purpose of continu- 
ing in unbelief. 

And this astonishing flood of evidence is perpetually 
increasing. Every ad litional benefit which christianity 
bestows upon any portion of mankind; every additional 
conversion of a sinner to God; every holy life that is 
added to the shining ranks of the followers of Christ: 
every new triumph of christian faith over the trials of 



298 UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

life and the terrors of death; every increase in the ful- 
fillment of prophecy; every advance in the conquest of 
the gospel over the darkness of paganism; every new 
year of victory over all the resistance of pretended 
friends and unfaithful professors, of internal divisions, 
and infidel enmity, is a new stream to swell the many 
waters, which one day, like the deluge of old, will 
drown unbelief in its last refuge, and make all nations 
and kindred, know how precious as an ark of safety, 
is He who "came into the world to save sinners." 

3. But have the evidences of Christianity that have 
existed for centuries, ever been answered 1 : Until they 
are, additional testimony is unnecessary. Infidels have 
attacked Christianity — but any thing may be attacked. 
They have slandered her doctrines, ridiculed her word, 
reviled her precepts, hated her holiness, and influenced 
many to go and do likewise ; but neither slander, nor 
reviling, nor hatred, nor ridicule, is the test of truth. 
Have infidels ever resorted to the one only fair and 
honest mode, of meeting, face to face, the whole array 
of testimony which Christianity advances, and endeav- 
ored coolly to prove, as a matter of historical evidence, 
that the authenticity of the New Testament, and the cred- 
ibility of its history, are not sustained ; that the miracles 
of Jesus have not been supported with adequate testi- 
mony; that the prophecies of scriptures have met their 
attestation in no accurate histories ; that Christianity 
was propagated by human force alone, and its fruits are 
those of a corrupt and deceitful tree ? 

We answer, no. There is no such effort in the books 
of infidelity. We read of speculations, opposed to our 
facts; insinuations, in answer to our testimonies; sneers, 



UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 299 

in reply to our solemn reasonings; assertions, where 
we demanded arguments: levity and presumption, where 
an advocate of truth would have been serious and hum- 
ble. But we know of no such thing as a book of infi- 
delity, in any sense corresponding in the nature, or 
grounds, or spirit of its reasoning, with such arguments 
for Christianity as those of Paley, or Lardner, or Greg- 
ory, or Watson, and a thousand others, to which no man 
ever dared attempt a candid answer. Infidelity, like an 
insect on the pillar of some stupendous temple, that can 
see no further than the microscopic irregularities of the 
polished marble beneath its feet, may busy itself in 
hunting for little specks in the surface of. the noble 
fabric of Christianity ; but has no such eye, and takes 
no such elevated stand, as would enable it to survey the 
whole plan, and judge of its pretensions by the mutual 
adaptation of its parts, the harmony and grandeur of 
its proportions. 

If Christianity be considered a plain question of in- 
ductive philosophy — if it be supported by a competent 
number of well certified facts — then all true philosophy 
says, Christianity ought to be believed, notwithstanding 
any conjectural hypothesis to the contrary. 

Only confine yourselves to this mode of investigation, 
and submit yourselves to this simple law of evidence, 
and, like Newton, you may mount a ladder set on a 
rock, and reaching to the right hand of the throne of 
God. Proceed on any other principle, it can only lead 
you into inextricable confusion. Infidelity is all specu- 
lation. Reduce it to a residium of inductive reasoning, 
and you bring it to nothingness. Strip it of its envel- 
A2 



300 



UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 



opes of ingenious hypothesis, and bold assertion, and 
scoffing declamation, and you find nothing left but a 
man of straw — an ugly shape, to keep the hungry from 
the bread of life, which you need only approach to dis- 
cover that it is made of rags, and stuffed with rotten- 
ness ! 

4. As to objections brought forward by infidels, we 
know of none, of any importance, which are not put to 
silence, and buried, by an appeal from what men think, 
to what men have done ; from speculation to testimony] 
from the ideas of objectors, to the facts of witnesses. 
The simple application o? the great principle of induc- 
tive philosophy, that whatever is collected by observation 
ought to be received, any hypothesis to the contrary not- 
withstanding, is the smooth white stone in the sling of 
David, which no champion of the Philistines, however 
gigantic in intellect or learning, or in the boast of either, 
can stand. We now speak of the chief objections. 
The ignorant ribaldry and ridicule of such an antagonist 
as Paine, who scraped the common sewers of infidelity 
for its very lowest and filthiest objections, are best an- 
swered in the profligate life and despairing death of the 
poor miserable man himself. 

As it is so often asked, " If the gospel is of inesti- 
mable importance to the happiness of man, and a won- 
derful exhibition of divine grace to sinners, why has 
not the infinitely good and merciful God extended it to 
all mankind ?" we may give the question a passing no- 
tice. Were it taught in the scriptures, that those who 
had never heard the gospel will be judged by its law, 
the objection would have force. Eut there is no such 
doctrine. There is reason in the objection only so far 



UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 301 

as there is reason in a creature's requiring the Creator 
to explain his ways, and admit him to His councils, 
before he will believe them. 

Does a philosopher stand on such grounds 1 Does he 
doubt the immense difference between the gifts and 
blessings, the privileges and improvements, of a native 
of England, and those of a savage of Kamschatka, 
because he knows not for what reason it was so or- 
dained ? Does he denv that the former are inestimable, 
because not universal? Will one refuse to believe that 
he has a mine of gold in his field, or that the gold is not 
worth his seeking, because all men are not equally fa- 
vored ? Shall a husbandman despise the genial rain 
upon his grass, because his neighbor's place is dry? If 
God has not seen fit to reveal the reasons for which he 
has not distributed the gifts of nature, of providence, or 
of grace, with an equal hand, we find nothing to com- 
plain of. We still believe that those gifts are from 
above — are excellent, and distributed under the guidance 
of infinite wisdom. 

It is enough for us to know, that Jesus, by the grace 
of God hath tasted death for every man ; that repentance 
and remission of sins are preached in his name ; that 
the efficacy of his cross extends even to those who 
never heard his name ; that those who sin without a 
knowledge of the gospel are judged and punished ac- 
cording to the light they enjoy ; and that those who, in 
every nation, fear God and work righteousness, are 
accepted of him ; and finally, that this gospel of the 
kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness 
unto all nations, and that the redeemed of the Lord, who 
come to Zion from heathen and christian lands, will all 



302 CJTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

join in ascribing glory to God and the Lamb forever 
and ever. 

5. But we do injustice to the cause in which we are 
engaged, by standing exclusively on the defensive. In- 
fidelity has too long been indulged with the privilege of 
attack. It is the stratagem of weakness, to put on a 
bold front, and make a desperate assault. Any arm 
can strike, but not every breast can repel a blow. It is 
high time infidelity were accused and brought to the bar. 
What proof of a single feature of doctrine or of moral 
principle can it produce, after having rejected such evi- 
dence as that of Christianity ? What satisfactory argu- 
ment for the obligation of any thing connected with 
natural religion — what proof even of the existence of 
God, can be offered as worthy of reliance, without a 
shameful inconsistency, by men who, in the immense 
power of evidence sustaining the divine authority of the 
gospel, can find nothing to convince them ? 

If infidels were put upon the defensive a little more 
frequently, they would have much less time to be creep- 
ing with poisoned arrows around the outworks of Chris- 
tianity. Let them point out, in the belief of the gospel, 
any thing like the contradictions and absurdities involved 
in a profession of infidelity ; and it shall be renounced 
as unworthy the countenance of a rational being, and 
derogatory to the character of Jehovah. 

This course of Lectures on Christianity we shall now 
close, with an affectionate appeal to the hearts of those 
who may have been allured, step by step, into the snare 
of infidelity; and on whom, we trust, our labor will not 
be spent in vain. It is our sincere desire to induce 
them to flee from the deadly snare, and to become exper- 



UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 303 

imentally acquainted with a religion, cheerful in itself, 
and making those cheerful who are partakers of it ; 
cheerful in trouble ; cheerful out of trouble ; cheerful 
while they live : cheerful when they die ; and cheerful 
through hopes of gaining those regions of joy, where 
" sorrow and sighingshall flee away." 

W A Christian is the highest style of Brian." 



13* 



CONCLUSION. 



An affectionate appeal to the hearts of those 
who have been entangled in the snare of 
infidelity. 

la making an affectionate appeal to the hearts of those 
who have been so unfortunate as to become entangled 
in the snare of infidelity, we are conscious of no motive 
but a desire to honor God, and to pluck them out of the 
snare. Regarding them as the victims of error, we arc 
devoutly anxious to see them extricated from it. Their 
creed we hold to be alike gloomy and ^pernicious ; and 
we would show them a more excellent way, and w T ould 
introduce them, with a bounding heart, into the light 
and liberty of Christianity. 

And we trust that the summary of evidence, laid 
before them in these lectures, may have a salutary 
effect upon their minds, and prove an additional incen- 
tive to encourage them to renounce the hidden things of 
dishonesty, and to lay hold on the hope set before them. 
But, let me ask, have you all the difficulty about the 
evidence and truth of Christianity that you profess ? Or 
is your hesitancy of a very different order? Do you 
feci a repugnance to the holy requirements of Chris- 
tianity, and a consequent dread of the punishments 
which it threatens ? And does this prompt in you the 
baneful wish, "O, that it might not be true V* Remem- 



UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 305 

ber what Rochester said, "A bad life is the only grand 
objection to the Bible !" Has not this been very much 
the case with you 1 You have fallen into sinful courses: 
you have yielded to the ways of the world ; you have 
gone with the multitude to do evil ; you have forsaken 
your better fellowships ; you have learned to spend 
your Sabbaths in pleasure ; and you have gradually be- 
come more and more careless. In this state you have 
been very unhappy at times; you have thought, * well, 
what if, after all, the Bible be true ! What if, after all, 
the wicked shall be turned into hell V At this juncture, 
some one farther advanced in skepticism than yourself, 
has aided you in shaking off the galling yoke of con- 
science. He has put some infidel publication into your 
hand ; you have read it ; it has fallen in with your pre- 
vious wishes and habits ; you have said, this is the very 
thing I wanted ; and you have at last learned to revile 
the Bible, to set lightly by its hopes, and to talk slan- 
derously of its professors. 

Come now, my friend, and let us reason together. 
Look back on the process. Why did you so readily 
drink in the poison contained in the infidel volume ? 
Because you were in a state of mind very much the 
opposite of that which the Bible demands. But what 
have you found, my friend, in the regions of skepticism? 
You have relinquished the hopes of Christianity by Jesus 
Christ. What have you obtained in their place ? Have 
you found peace of m'nd 1 Will your present charac- 
ter and your present religion sustain you in a dying 
hour? Your fathers and brethren in infidelity have 
tried it, and have found it to fail. And do you wish to 
try it, and find it to fail you also ? Thousands of Chris- 



306 UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

tians have died triumphantly, and are you afraid to follow 
their footsteps ? Does it never occur to you, that ii 
Christianity be true, you are undone ? — that Yl it'be false, 
he who believes it can suffer no injury ? Who, let me 
ask you, are your companions ? What are your pur- 
suits? And what your hopes? We deeply feel for 
you, while we greatly blame you. You may have been 
inadequately instructed ; you may have seen bad exam- 
ples ; you may have witnessed great inconsistencies in 
some professors of religion. Granting, however, that 
all this may have been the case, still the interests of the 
soul are a personal concern. No man can stand in your 
place when you come to die. We beseech you, then, 
to arouse yourself from that lethargy into which sin 
and unbelief, acting and re-acting, have conjointly sunk 
you. 

Ask yourself the question, "what makes me a skep- 
tic? Is it because I have examined for myself, and 
know the gospel to be a fable? or is it because I desire 
that it may be one?" And why should you desire this? 
If Christianity does not meet your case, no other system 
can. Infidelity has not met your case; it has not 
awakened hope; it has not allayed despair; it has not 
ministered peace. No! it has only stupified a con- 
science which must yet awake; it has only taught you 
to put the evil day far away; it has only blinded you 
for a time to the dread prospects of a future, and im- 
pending eternity. Why, we ask again, should you 
wish that Christianity may not be true? Is it because 
you feel yourself guilty, and shrink from the condem- 
nation which it threatens? Well might you thus shrink 
if it did not reveal a remedy, as well as disclose a dis- 



UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. SOT 

ease and point out its consequences. Yov are guilty, 
yea, ten thousand times more guilty than ever you im- 
agined yourself to be; but what we maintain is, that if 
you turn away the eye of faith from the great sacrifice 
which Christianity reveals, you must sink forever be- 
neath the pressure of your guilt, and with this super- 
added horror, that you perished at the threshhold of 
mercy. 

Is it because you do not love the pure and holy de- 
mands of Christianity, that you turn away from it? 
Well; but is not this, its pure character, the proof of 
its celestial origin? and if so will it avail you to reject 
it? Will the holy life it requires, be less obligatory 
because you determine not to pursue it? Will the great 
Judge excuse you at last because you loved your sins 
more than his revealed will? 

Besides, what is to root out unholy inclinations, to 
correct bad habits, to superinduce devotions, and to 
raise the soul to God? Is it not divine meditation on the 
blessed word, under the influence of the Holy Spirit? 

Here is that consecrated fountain which, by the grace 
of God, shall quench your thirst of sin. Here you 
may read of the new heart till you know, by experience, 
what it is. Here is a divine deliverer, whose "name 
is called Jesus, because he saves his people from their 
sins." Here is a divine sanctifier, who can create 
within you a clear heart, and renew within you a right 
spirit. A few words more and we have done. Ask God to 
teach you. Ask him, if the Bible be from him, to enable 
you to come to the belief of it. Ask him to remove 
your blindness, to allay your prejudices, to prevent any 
sinful habit from giving a bias to your decision. And 



308 UTILITY OF CHRISTIANITY. 

above all, ask him, through the atoning blood of the 
cross, to forgive your iniquities, to change your heart, 
and help you, by his grace, to walk in the light of his 
countenance all the days of thy life. Then shall thy 
darkness be turned into light, thy sorrow into joy, and 
thy blasting, infidel prospects, into prospects of gaining 
the undying glories of the world to come. 

Make no delay in this work; time is short; eternity is 
at hand; the Judge is at the door, and if you die a stran- 
ger to the hopes of Christianity, while retrospecting 
your life upon a dying bed, you will be constrained to 
adopt the language of the wretched Voltaire, on the 
miseries of earth. "I tremble at the review of this 
dreadful picture, to find that it contains a complaint 
against providence itself, and I loish I had never been 
born." 



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